‘Impressive’ Heaton To Retain Cardiff City Place

Cardiff City goalkeeper has been out of favour for some time with manager Dave Jones opting to stick with Peter Enckleman over the past two months. That has left the on-loan Manchester United youngster sitting patiently on the bench for the Bluebirds. He has not stamped his authority on the squad yet and his kicking, positioning and shot-saving skills had all been called into question over the shaky first few months.

Heaton was a certainty to start last nights game against Arsenal given Enckelman`s injury and the fact that new recruit Dimi Konstantopoulos is cup-tied having played for Swansea City already. After a 4-0 drubbing, few would be surprised if Heaton was dropped and Dimi installed into the starting line-up for Sunday`s trip to Wolves.

However, the scoreline does not tell the full story by any means and those who travelled to London last night will have seen Heaton`s performance as a bright spot in a disappointing but enjoyable experience. Heaton was off his line quickly and decisively on several occasions to keep Arsenal out, he also made a number of impressive saves throughout the game to keep the score down – such was Arsenal`s brilliance.

Heaton could not be blamed for any of the goals in my opinion. He went the wrong way at the penalty and was beaten through his legs by a precision shot from van Persie but there was little he could do about the two headers. Indeed saves from Bentner and Eduardo early on may have prevented a cricket score developing at the Emirates Stadium.

Manager Dave Jones was full of praise for Heaton, probably our man of the match on the night, and it seems certain that the England U21 man has done enough to cement himself a run in the side starting with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.