Wojciech Szczesny

Although I do have some issues with Szcz attitude and performances at times, I don't think there is any doubting his potential or his love for the club. From the dot com...

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Playing for Arsenal has made Wojciech Szczesny a Gooner - and he can't imagine wearing the shirt of another club.

The Poland goalkeeper has established himself as the Club's No 1 since breaking into the first team two years ago and, at 22, he has the vast majority of his career ahead of him.

As far as Szczesny is concerned he wants to spend that time at Emirates Stadium after becoming more than just an Arsenal player.

"Ever since I signed for this club, I’ve become an Arsenal fan," Szczesny told Arsenal Player.

"It feels like it’s more than me just playing and doing my best on a Saturday afternoon. I feel like I have a much bigger part to play at this club. It means that little bit more to me.

"I think there’s a lot of players in this team that are genuine Gooners. You’ve got people like Carl Jenkinson, there’s Jack Wilshere, Emmanuel Frimpong - a lot of young players who really feel it’s the biggest honour they could have, to play for this club.

"I think that’s very important for the future."

Szczesny is 12 games short of his first century of games for Arsenal, a notable achievement for someone so young. The Pole is a long way off David Seaman's Club record of 564 appearances in goal but he has time on his side and is growing in stature.

"I think I improve with every single game," he said. "I get the experience that is needed for a young keeper, so it’s important for me to play as many games as possible.

"I don’t think about playing for any other club. I see my future at Arsenal Football Club. I committed to coming here at the age of 16, not to then leave at the age of 24. That’s not how it works for me.

"I think coming over to England at the age of 16 was the most important decision of my life and probably the best one, to date."

Valdes will not renew his contract with Barcelona as he wishes to sample other cultures and other leagues.

Maybe Chelsea will be in for him?

Then Barca will come calling for SZCZ?

Why would Chelsea want to replace Cech? I can say Cech is in the top 5 goalkeepers in the world. The number of times I have seen him keeping Chelsea in matches (until they eventually get a lucky winner/equalizer) is ridiculous.

Vanig Bostanian wrote:Why would Chelsea want to replace Cech? I can say Cech is in the top 5 goalkeepers in the world. The number of times I have seen him keeping Chelsea in matches (until they eventually get a lucky winner/equalizer) is ridiculous.

Maybe I haven't watched enough recently. But in recent seasons I've thought he's been pretty poor.

Any other top clubs need a keeper? Valdes good enough for Man United, although they've had a pretty poor record with keepers since Schmeichel (apart from Van Der Sar). Howard, Bosnich (blame injuries), Taibi, Lindegaard, De Gea.

Jonathan Prendergast wrote:

Vanig Bostanian wrote:Why would Chelsea want to replace Cech? I can say Cech is in the top 5 goalkeepers in the world. The number of times I have seen him keeping Chelsea in matches (until they eventually get a lucky winner/equalizer) is ridiculous.

Maybe I haven't watched enough recently. But in recent seasons I've thought he's been pretty poor.

Any other top clubs need a keeper? Valdes good enough for Man United, although they've had a pretty poor record with keepers since Schmeichel (apart from Van Der Sar). Howard, Bosnich (blame injuries), Taibi, Lindegaard, De Gea.

Well Cech isn't the monster he was back in 05-06 , but I'd still include him among the very best. I sometimes feel very guilty for actually liking Juan Mata and Petr Cech.

Wojciech Szczesny has insisted that his long-term future remains with Arsenal despite losing his place in goal to Lukasz Fabianski.

The Polish goalkeeper remained in England as the Gunners beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the Champions League last week, and did not regain his place for the Premier League win over Swansea at the weekend.

But Szczesny said the competition he is facing for his place in the team would not deter him from fighting for his future.

"I am too happy to go somewhere else," he said. "I believe in the philosophy of the club and that Arsenal will start to win again.

"I have a debt to pay here for the club, I owe them. I just do not want to go anywhere else. As long as they want me here, there is no somewhere else, and I have a contract until June 2015."

Szczesny said everyone at the Emirates needed to focus on Arsenal overturning Tottenham or Chelsea to claim a top-four finish and restore some pride after a tough season.

"It is halfway through March and we have lost everything," he added. "There are still 10 matches left to save the club against the humiliation of all times.

"It would be disaster not to be in the top four and without the Champions League next year.

"We have the 10 most important games in our careers. We are going through the most difficult time since I came here."

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/198277.html?CMP=OTC-RSS#

Mike York wrote:Wojciech Szczesny has insisted that his long-term future remains with Arsenal despite losing his place in goal to Lukasz Fabianski.

The Polish goalkeeper remained in England as the Gunners beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the Champions League last week, and did not regain his place for the Premier League win over Swansea at the weekend.

But Szczesny said the competition he is facing for his place in the team would not deter him from fighting for his future.

"I am too happy to go somewhere else," he said. "I believe in the philosophy of the club and that Arsenal will start to win again.

"I have a debt to pay here for the club, I owe them. I just do not want to go anywhere else. As long as they want me here, there is no somewhere else, and I have a contract until June 2015."

Szczesny said everyone at the Emirates needed to focus on Arsenal overturning Tottenham or Chelsea to claim a top-four finish and restore some pride after a tough season.

"It is halfway through March and we have lost everything," he added. "There are still 10 matches left to save the club against the humiliation of all times.

"It would be disaster not to be in the top four and without the Champions League next year.

"We have the 10 most important games in our careers. We are going through the most difficult time since I came here."

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/198277.html?CMP=OTC-RSS#

At least he doesn't sugarcoat those last three lines...

So, Valdes may be leaving Barca in the summer transfer window. Would you take him?

I have a lot of faith in SZCZ, and assume Valdes would not be happy being No. 2. So I would say no.

Jonathan Prendergast wrote:So, Valdes may be leaving Barca in the summer transfer window. Would you take him?

I have a lot of faith in SZCZ, and assume Valdes would not be happy being No. 2. So I would say no.

I don't see a new keeper as a priority. Fabianski and Szczesny are fine in my opinion, and most of the mistakes I've seen them make could be solved with a better defense. As in signing a new CB, using Koscielny a lot more often (especially in place of Mertesacker against fast-paced attacking teams, I love the BFG but he's slower than a paralyzed tortoise), and possibly selling Vermaelen.

Improving the squad is a priority.

So, an experienced keeper who is good enough that he would put Szczesny on the bench more permanently if he is good enough. What would the point of an average veteran as just back-up be?

Szczesny is still learning the trade, we need someone who can comfortably replace him and if he is good enough take his place permanently. No need to be sentimental about it. Szczesny is cocky but he should appreciate the challenge, he still has it all to prove.

John Foxall wrote:Improving the squad is a priority.

So, an experienced keeper who is good enough that he would put Szczesny on the bench more permanently if he is good enough. What would the point of an average veteran as just back-up be?

Szczesny is still learning the trade, we need someone who can comfortably replace him and if he is good enough take his place permanently. No need to be sentimental about it. Szczesny is cocky but he should appreciate the challenge, he still has it all to prove.

Yes, improving the squad is a priority. So why not focus on coaching the back four and signing an actual DM, a CB, and a reliable striker? THEN we can worry about solving a problem that would probably already be solved by fixing the defense.

John Foxall wrote:Improving the squad is a priority.

So, an experienced keeper who is good enough that he would put Szczesny on the bench more permanently if he is good enough. What would the point of an average veteran as just back-up be?

Szczesny is still learning the trade, we need someone who can comfortably replace him and if he is good enough take his place permanently. No need to be sentimental about it. Szczesny is cocky but he should appreciate the challenge, he still has it all to prove.

Are you saying Valdes is an average veteran? Interested in your opinion of him. I personally think SZCZ would be better than Valdes next season.

Last season, there was a pattern in each game. We would dominate the first 10 minutes, then give the opposition a chance, and SZCZ would save our necks. Almunia in previous seasons would have let it in, and one you are behind, you have to attack at the risk of conceding more goals. This didn't work against some of the top teams where they would take the early chance more clinically.

He hasn't been as good this season, but he's been decent, and I have faith he'll be strong this season. And the mistakes he's made...I've seen many of the top keepers (Casillas, Reina, De Gea, Friedel, Schwarzer) make the same errors.

Arsenal legend David Seaman has warned out-of-favour Gunners goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny that he has a fight on his hands to regain his place in Arsene Wenger’s plans.

Poland international Szczesny has lost his place to Lukasz Fabianski with Wenger announcing he had been dropped because he was suffering from ‘mental fatigue’.

Fabianski, who has also been through the mill in his time at the Emirates, has been between the posts since playing well in the 2-0 Champions League win at Bayern Munich.

And Seaman, who played 406 Premier League games for Arsenal while winning 75 caps with England, believes Szczesny has a lot of work to do to regain his place on the team sheet.

‘All goalkeepers make mistakes but the really good ones learn from them and show they are able to bounce back from a setback,’ Seaman said.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/04/04/david-seaman-tells-wojciech-szczesny-to-show-character-to-get-back-into-arsenal-team-3584270/

He mad a save today that is typical of him.

We commonly have good early periods in game, and sometimes fail to capitalise and score, or sometimes only score 1.

The opposition come into the game, and create a chance. And he steps up and saves it.

It was towards the end of the first half, and a long range shot that bounced in front of him. If they had equalised at that point, it might have made it tough for us. Could have changed the game.

Not so much last season, but the season before, he made many of these saves.

He's good, but he still need to improve his distribution. Sometimes I think he just hoofs the ball away eventhough under pressure.

He's had 4-5 consecutive flawless games.

Samritpal Singh wrote:He's good, but he still need to improve his distribution. Sometimes I think he just hoofs the ball away eventhough under pressure.

Yeah, agree his distribution could be better.

I've never really felt the need to get another top quality goalie in like some say they wanted. I'm a massive fan of Szczesny. He makes the odd erratic mistake but every goalie does, he also makes some ridiculous reflex saves that other goalies wouldn't. If he was put on the bench for a couple seasons behind a more experienced goalie then his progress would halt massively. He was showed some tough love last season and it worked well so I think Wenger made the right step to buy a goalie who is a good back-up and have faith in Szczesny as the main goalie. He has said more than once he wants to be at Arsenal for his career, is already one of the best goalies in the league and I think in 5 years or so we could have one of the best goalies in the world in him.

He is growing into a quality Goalkeeper just like Ramsey is growing all the time, lets remember his solid form when he has a dip, because he and the team as a whole will do at some point this season.

Wojciech Szczesny can become an Arsenal legend, says Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.

Keeper Szczesny, 23, recently signed a new, long-term deal at the Emirates and Wenger reckons he can go on to be considered an Arsenal great.

The Poland keeper chalked up his 50th clean sheet for the Gunners as Wenger’s outfit defeated Marseille in the Champions League earlier this week.

Speaking to Arsenal.com, he said: “Yes, he can be one of the best. You have to question a little bit the defenders as well when you consider clean sheet stats because you’re part of a team and sometimes too many individual stats can lead you to conclusions that are not as obvious as that.

“But what I am sure is that he has the potential to be a historical goalkeeper for Arsenal. That will depend on how much he will continue to focus, to have the desire to be better, to have the desire to put the hard work in.

“If you look around at different clubs you see how quickly a goalkeeper can lose confidence, how quickly a goalkeeper can lose all his qualities. The level of urgency in this position has to be absolutely 100 per cent.

“He is a very young man. I personally believe his composure is better, his reading of the game is better, his level of concentration is much stronger and that comes out with his numbers. He is still a very young goalkeeper because he’s at an age where other goalkeepers start to play.

“He has already a vast experience. That’s why I think it’s very good news for the Club that he has extended his contract. But rightly so as well because this Club has given him a huge chance at a very young age – and that is not common at in the top, top clubs.

“I would like to give credit to our education system as well because he has been educated here, he has been given a chance here so that is quite faithful to the values that we have at our club. You speak of Wilshere, you speak of Ramsey and I think they are together exactly the same.”

http://www.arsenalinsider.com/9864/szczesny-can-become-arsenal-legend-says-wenger/

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has praised the development of Wojciech Szczesny and believes he is among the best five goalkeepers in the Premier League.

Szczesny made his 100th Premier League appearance in last weekend's 2-0 win over Fulham and has been a key figure in helping Arsenal to lead the table.

He was dropped for a few weeks towards the end of last season, but Wenger has been delighted with the way the 23-year-old has continued to improve.

"Certainly a part of his improvement is mental because he's more mature," Wenger told Arsenal Player.

"His decision-making is cleaner, sharper, quicker. He was always a very talented boy but because he's intelligent he learns quickly from experience.

"I'm happy that I always gave him the confidence because he's developing very well into a very strong goalkeeper and today certainly nobody would question that he's one of the top five goalkeepers in the Premier League."

Arsenal boast the best defensive record in the Premier League after conceding just 19 goals in 22 games and only six of those goals have come at the Emirates Stadium.

Wenger added: "That defensive solidity of course is the basic work you have to do to be efficient at home.

"Maybe what is even more important is to have that solidarity at home because it gives you time to fatigue your opponent, time to stretch them, time to dominate them and get the game completely in their own half. The longer that lasts the more you have chances to score."

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/9127822/