"Nervous" claim made on Arthur Okonkwo at Wrexham AFC as improvement demand is made | OneFootball

Arthur Okonkwo has come under fire despite keeping plenty of League One sides at bay this season

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Wrexham took a massive leap towards earning a third successive promotion last weekend, as Sam Smith’s winner saw them claim a crucial 1-0 win over promotion rivals Wycombe Wanderers.

The Red Dragons now have a three-point lead over the Chairboys - albeit with Mike Dodds’ side having a game in hand - and will be looking to keep that momentum going into the final nine games of the League One season.

The Welsh side will need all hands on deck to get over the line in the coming weeks, with showdowns against chasing Stockport County and Charlton Athletic likely to define their season before the campaign comes to a close.

With standards high across the board of late, we gave Football League World’s Wrexham fan pundit Liam Grice the unenviable task of picking one player who needs to up their game in the run-in, with plenty at stake over the next few weeks.

Arthur Okonkowo issue raised ahead of Wrexham’s automatic promotion battle

The shutout of Wanderers at the weekend was Wrexham’s fourth clean sheet in their last five outings, with only Reading FC breaching their defence in a 2-0 defeat at the Madejski Stadium last Tuesday.

Other than that, the Welsh side have registered 1-0 wins over Rotherham and Huddersfield, as well as finishing their clash against Bolton Wanderers as they had started it, with neither side able to find the back of the net.

Arthur Okonkwo has been the man between the sticks for all of those occasions, with the former Arsenal man recovering from a broken wrist sustained earlier in the campaign to regain his place as number one for the season’s climax.

While the 23-year-old has proven himself to be a sturdy last line of defence during the current campaign, Grice still isn’t convinced by what he has seen of his side’s glovesman, with issues raised that may cause problems further down the line.

When asked which player needs improving within the playing squad, the Wrexham fan said: “This may be a bit of a harsh one - given that he has just come back from injury and put in some solid performances - but for me there are still aspects of Arthur Okonkwo’s game that could still be improved.

“I think his distribution is the main one, a lot of Wrexham fans will agree with the fact that you can guarantee that at least five kicks a game will go straight out of play and not go where they intended.

“You are always a bit nervous when he gets a back pass, so that can definitely be improved. I think his overall command of his penalty area could also be improved as well.

“He seems a bit nervous when a ball gets played over the top, he hesitates and doesn’t want to come off his line, but his shot-stopping is brilliant.

“I have no doubt that he can improve in those other areas and become a very solid, well-rounded goalkeeper.”

Arthur Okonkwo underlying numbers amid Wrexham’s League One campaign

Despite Grice’s gripes, Okonkwo has been one of the standout players in his division this season, with the former Crewe Alexandra loanee keeping the ball out the back of his net on a regular basis.

Only Birmingham City’s Ryan Allsop (0.46) and Stockport County’s Ben Hinchliffe (0.78) can boast less than his 0.79 goals conceded per game this season, with only 19 shots getting past him in his 24 matches in the league during the current campaign.

On top of that, there isn’t a single goalkeeper in the third tier that can top the Wrexham player’s 78.8% save percentage this season, with Leyton Orient’s Josh Keeley a close second (78.0%) while Allsop once again makes the top three (77.6%).

With over half of his outings resulting in a clean sheet for his side, there is no doubting that Okonkwo has made the world of difference for Wrexham this season, but as you make your way up the football pyramid, there are often extra demands put on the man between the sticks.

That is where Grice’s worry lies, and if the Red Dragons do achieve promotion this season, it will be an interesting conundrum that the Welsh side will have to manage if they are to step foot in the Championship.