Who is Andre Onana? The goalkeeper set for a cut-price move to Arsenal
'What's my name?' by Rihanna is not the first song supporters would associate with football, but try not singing it when you mention Andre Onana. Unfortunately, Ajax fans have been unable to enjoy his performances since February 2021. Onana is currently serving a one-year doping ban, pending appeal, and it means he is currently banned from all football activities until February 2022.
With 12 months left to run on his current deal, Ajax are prepared to cash in on Onana. While they won't bring in the £30m quoted to Chelsea last summer, who eventually settled on Edouard Mendy, the Eredivisie champions would rather sell than lose on a free next summer.
Of course, the lack of game time up until now, and potentially into next year, has depreciated one of Ajax's most sellable assets, so much so that Arsenal may land the Cameroonian for as little as £1.7m if reports from the Netherlands are to be believed.
Onana appealed the ban on Wednesday and is awaiting the decision made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to determine the eventual fee if Arsenal do win the race to sign the 25-year-old. If the ban is shortened, then the fee could rise to round £8m, but even with the suspension and lack of game time, that would still prove a steal for a goalkeeper of Onana's calibre.
He finished the 2020/21 season with a save success rate of 78.9%, that the best in the Eredivisie, though having played just 20 of a possible 34 league matches, that skews the figure somewhat. Nevertheless, Onana has finished full seasons well in this metric, so such a commendable return is not an exemption to the rule. He also managed nine clean sheets in his 20 outings, and the most kept in 2020/21 was 12, as Onana finished highly despite playing only 58.8% of games.
Considering Ajax's dominance, goalkeepers for the Eredivisie champions are rarely tested. Indeed, no team conceded fewer shots per game than Ajax (8.6) in the Dutch top tier this term, but there adds a different element to his game. Busier goalkeepers over a prolonged period of time could see the mental side to their repertoire take a hit as a result, whereas those who don't face quite so many shots are needed to perform at their maximum ability in a very short period of time.
So Onana could go 80 minutes with nothing of note to do, but in a matter of seconds, face two or three efforts on goal, yet deal with the goal threat impressively to ensure his side secures victory. Arsenal, then, should be confident that he could transfer this shotstopping quality to his game to the Premier League, despite conceding more shots per league game (10.6) than Ajax.
If anything, it would be a greater test to his reflexes and allow Onana to take his game to the next level. In playing in one of Europe's more recognisible leagues, Onana has the opportunity to become more of a household name on the continent and while his reputation has soared at Ajax, chances are it would rise further by playing in England, particularly if he can play his part in bolstering this Arsenal backline.
When stopping attacks, Onana impresses, and he is just as solid a performer with the ball at his feet. There is a greater onus on goalkeepers to become an 11th outfielder and help instigate attacks from the back. This increases the risk of being caught out by opponents, however when dominating a side, it helps a team push upfield in order to get more men forward in seach of goal.
In this regard, Onana shone prior to his suspension. Only PSV's Yann Mvogo (80.6%) returned a better pass success rate than the Ajax man (79.9%) of Eredivisie goalkeepers in 2020/21. The matter of which Onana picks out a teammate also differs, which adds element on unpredictability to the way Ajax attack. These can be short passes to the centre-backs, or long balls to the flanks and forwards. With the latter, 7.2 accurate long balls per 90 was the ninth best in the Eredivisie this season of those to have made 20 or more appearances.
This would allow Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to either implement a more patient approach or afford for the Gunners to go direct depending on the situation within the game. Even if Onana's ban is upheld and he is unable to play any part for Arsenal until February 2022, time is very much on his side and for less than the reported £2m, the Gunners would be a stronger side defensively with the Cameroon internatational between the sticks. The long-term gains mitigate the short-term risks and he would undoubtely prove a fine capture for Arteta's side.
