Wojciech Szczesny

I'm not sure id say "great" but he is average I guess, on a free transfer and with Fabianski not fetching us much in a sale he is the right sort of price...

Craig Gordon would be decent. Jussi will probably leave Bolton and is again decent but more experienced. I'd like to see Al-Habsi or Vorm but I don't think either would leave their team to be our second choice. It'll be tough to find a great goalkeeper who will be willing to sit on the bench for most of the season so anyone who is better and more experienced than Flappyhandksi will do for me.

Al Habsi is terrible!

I wouldn't say terrible but he isn't great. I don't think we'll get a much better calibre of player (with PL experience) willing to be a back-up though.

Christopher Flanagan wrote:Al Habsi is terrible!

Take that back, fish!


I'd take Jussi or Gordon very happily, and they would both probably be interested.

Arsenal stars use 'John Terry' as code for ugly girls, says Wojciech Szczesny

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has risked angering new European champions Chelsea, by revealing Gunners players refer to ugly girls on nights out as ‘John Terry’.

The 22-year-old shot-stopper, who was giving an interview to the Polish version of Playboy, admitted the Blues skipper’s name acts as a code word when one of his team-mates wants to escape from an awkward situation with the opposite sex.

‘At Arsenal it [the name John Terry] is another word for an ugly girl,’ said Szczesny.

‘If there’s a girl around that we don’t really like, we use it as a smokescreen, as in: “Have you seen John Terry recently? He’s terrible. I recommend this, it really works.”’

The big keeper, who is aiming to take part in Poland’s next warm-up game against Slovakia before Euro 2012, has also confirmed he’s over the shoulder injury which troubled him during the last five weeks of Arsenal’s season.

‘Everything is fine with my shoulder, on Tuesday I report for training,’ he said.

‘I’m healthy and there’s no need to do any injections. Wenger’s words were true, for about five weeks I’ve played injured, but it hasn’t got worse during this time.

‘For a week I’ve been resting and the pain has completely passed. I think it was a bigger scandal in the media than a real issue. Now I’d really like to play a match against Slovakia.’

http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/oddballs/899869-arsenal-stars-use-john-terry-as-code-for-ugly-girls-says-wojciech-szczesny

Lad.

Haha. Now they can't use 'john terry' as a smokescreen anymore.

In other news, should/will he take the number 1 from almunia?? I honestly don't think he will, it's too regular for his liking.

There is a fair chance that Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny will play a massive part for co-hosts Poland at the upcoming Euro 2012 tournament.

Szczesny did not start Poland’s 1-0 friendly win over Latvia on Tuesday evening with Arsenal team mate Lukasz Fabianski preferred instead – presumably to give the latter playing time.

Video has emerged from the Poland training camp in Lienz yesterday of the Arsenal number one mucking about in training and Szczesny scores a brilliant rabona goal – albeit with no one in goal.

So good is the goal, that Szczesny checks to see if it was caught on camera and thankfully for us and all Gooners across the globe it can be seen on the video below.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/video-arsenal-keeper-wojciech-szczesny-scores-brilliant-rabona-goal-poland-training/

Brad Guzan is to be released by Aston Villa in the summer. We could also get him for free.

However, Guzan has said he wants to be a starter. He doesn't want to sit on the bench, which he'll likely do with us.

Craig Gordon will provide a decent competition for him, Fabianski and Manonne are shit.

Jaaskelainen should be good cover. He's released by Bolton.

Also, Poland got their 5th clean sheet in a row and it's the first time that happened in their history. Szczesny played all those matches.

Looking good for now, hopefully it continues!

Didn't Fabianski play a couple of games ago? While Sczeszny had a rest?

Samritpal Singh wrote:Jaaskelainen should be good cover. He's released by Bolton.

Also, Poland got their 5th clean sheet in a row and it's the first time that happened in their history. Szczesny played all those matches.

Looking good for now, hopefully it continues!

He would not only be good cover, he'd challenge Chesney for the #1 spot. We should really try to make this happen.

I've always been a Jaaskelainen fan. It'd be a pretty smart move.

Kaaskelainen is on his way to WHU I think.

I heard the West Ham stuff as well, but surely we'd be a more attractive proposition?

If not him, then Green. Both seem good keepers.

No to Green. He can be awesome on his day, but he has Fabianski stuff in him.

He's worse than Fabianksi!

As one of the most high-profile Polish players at the European Championships, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Wojciech Szczesny is a very visible presence in the media as the tournament gears up for kick-off this evening.

Over the course of the last few weeks Arseblog News has featured a number of interesting snippets taken from interviews conducted with our 22-year-old goalkeeper. On a quiet news day, we make no apologies for featuring Szczesny again, as he talks about Euro 2012, Arsenal, accusations of arrogance, crazy goal celebrations and life in London.

The following Q&A session originally appeared in Polish publication Przegląd Sportowy and has been lovingly translated for us by Matt at Gunners.com.pl.

Enjoy…

What are your plans for 1st July?

To drink champagne in Kiev, what else? (grins) Winning the European Championship is my dream.

For the last six major tournaments in which Poland participated, world and European, we didn’t win the opening game. What makes us different now against Greece?

I will put it objectively, as a football fan. During the previous big tournaments, those in the 21st century, we were lacking players, who performed outstandingly in the top European clubs. Today no one can say that about, for example, Borussia Dortmund, where our Polish trio plays a very important role. With such individuals we stand a chance of getting somewhere better than our predecessors. And I’m not talking only about the Borussia lads; I’m also delighted to see Rafał Wolski’s skills. Because I don’t watch the Polish league very often, I wasn’t aware we had such talents back home.

How do you concentrate before such important games? Toni Schumacher, a former German national team player, said that in such situations he would stand right in the middle of the pitch and repetitively say to himself that he was the best keeper in the universe, a wildcat that preys on the ball.

I am not a cat, and I don’t mix my job with any philosophy. I just have to catch every ball flying towards me; and I only concentrate on that. Come to think of it, my job is not really complicated – I just have to throw myself at people’s feet or catch the ball.

Do you enjoy being in the spotlight?

Occasionally. Of course, I don’t want to be in the tabloids. If I have to, I’d rather be on the last page where the sport section is, not the front page. I don’t want to be famous for any reason but football. I don’t intend to become a celebrity. When it comes to bad antics, it’s really simple – if you’re not looking for trouble, you won’t get any. I go to a nightclub only when I am allowed to and we have a couple of days off. So far I’ve had no troubles with paparazzi and I would like it to stay this way. I only agree to photo sessions; in fact, I do them for my own keepsake rather than the magazines. They will be nice to look at in twenty years from now.

A reporter from The Sun (Charlie Wyett speaking to We Are The North Bank), who coached the Arsenal youth on media relations a few years ago, best remembered you: “Most of the others were just staring out of the window bored shitless. I asked afterwards who this kid was and was told he was a very talented Polish goalkeeper.” Obviously, he was talking about you…

I was always curious about the world. I was never afraid to ask, and I still don’t consider it a flaw. I don’t like clichés and banality in general, and I wouldn’t express myself this way. Obviously I am aware how I might be perceived. I have to stop myself from going over the top. I admit, though, that sometimes I can do or say something controllably reckless.

How do you mean? Are you saying that after a game you already know you have to say something controversial to the press? Or maybe it’s about the goal celebration during the game against Germany last year? After Kuba Błaszczykowski scored 2:1 you ran behind the goal, grabbed one of the photo cameras and started shooting pictures of yourself. Do you plan this type of actions ahead?

Absolutely not. In Gdańsk it all happened spontaneously; I was just enjoying the goal, I spotted that camera and rushed to capture myself in that very moment. You’ve made me realize I never actually saw those pictures. Maybe that cameraman will call after he reads this interview? Unless he was German.

If you’re so curious about the world, might you one day become a journalist?

Oh no, with all due respect, I’d rather become a priest.

Why are you often called arrogant?

It only takes one self-confident quote of mine and I’m already labelled arrogant. When I was the third keeper in Arsenal I said that I deserve a chance. I wanted to be the number one, I truly believed that. They all shook their heads at that barely nineteen big-headed punk. And then what happened? I got my chance and I never let it go. For me that’s self-confidence, not arrogance. I proved I was right. I’m being taken the wrong way very often.

But why?

Because somebody gave me the label of a spoiled bastard, who thinks he’s the best in the whole world. But let’s just say that I can really do a bit more than that, and I have a bit of a better life than most of those who say so. It is so typically Polish to envy and be jealous, and I can’t change that. My teammate Emmanuel Frimpong said something nice once on Twitter: “Haters don’t hate you. They hate the fact you’re the one that they wanted to be.” That shows being envied, not disliked.

Is your love of London a love for life?

There is no better place to live than London. I have wound up in a city, where life is wonderful. I am 22, I have seen many interesting places, but nothing compares to London. You can go somewhere for a week time and have fun, like Las Vegas. I haven’t been there actually, I am planning that for next year; I mean, in such places you can party for a couple of days and get bored. That’s not a place to live. London is different – it welcomes everybody, the quiet ones, and the ones seeking excitement. There is something for everyone. I can’t imagine living elsewhere.

Let’s go back in time a bit. It is June 2010, and you’re coming back to Arsenal from your loan to Brentford. The club was considering you as the third goalkeeper. You couldn’t have thought that in two years, for the European championship, your place in the Polish goal would be undisputable, could you?

A lot of things have changed in my life in a very short period of time. I am hugely indebted to Arsenal for giving me a chance to make a great career. I cannot imagine playing in another club. The Arsenal club, especially the goalkeepers’ coach Tony Roberts, have shaped me as a footballer. When I finish my career in a couple of years or more, Tony will be among those whom I am thankful the most.

http://news.arseblog.com/2012/06/szczesny-id-rather-be-a-priest-than-a-journalist-and-more/?utm_source=feedburner.com%2Farseblognews&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arseblognews+%28Arseblog+News+-+the+one+stop+Arsenal+news+site%29

What a shit game he had. Flop of the match. But his celebration for the save was epic.

Wenger KnowsBest ‏@wengerknowsbest

I believe Szczesny was little bit unlucky today. Apart from gifting a goal and getting sent off, he did quite well.

Hahahaha I love wengerknowsbest

Van Roy Bostanian wrote:What a shit game he had. Flop of the match. But his celebration for the save was epic.

Do you have a link to watch that celebration? Many are talking about it LOL