Manuel Almunia Rivero (born 19 May 1977) is a Spanish footballer. He currently plays as third choice goalkeeper for Arsenal. He also captained Arsenal when Cesc Fàbregas was absent. Almunia signed for Arsenal for an undisclosed fee on 14 July 2004. His break out season was during the 2007/2008 season where he started many games. He was given the number one after Jens Lehmann left for Stuttgart at the beginning of the 2008–09 season. In 2008, Almunia signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal.