Curle had no reason to make a change as Cornell gets the nod over Arnold

Cornell was Town's undisputed number one throughout last term, starting all 46 league games plus a couple of cup fixtures, but he faces stronger competition for the gloves this season from summer recruit Steve Arnold.

The two were given an equal number of minutes during Town's pre-season campaign and both produced solid, error-free performances between the sticks, leaving Curle with a tough decision to make heading into the visit of Darrell Clarke's Saddlers.

But the Cobblers boss revealed after his side's friendly win over MK Dons that he had made his mind up and it was Cornell - as the man in situ - who was given the nod for Saturday's League Two opener.

"I think they've both done very well in pre-season," said Curle after his side's 1-0 defeat to Walsall. "The games they've had in pre-season and how they've gone in training, they've both played very, very well.

"Because of that, Dai hasn't done anything wrong to not start the season but he knows he's got very, very good competition for the position."

When asked if Cornell is his number one goalkeeper moving forward, Curle added: "I don't think I've got a number 1, I think I've got two very good goalkeepers."