Arsene Wenger has hinted that Lukasz Fabianski will continue in goal after his solid display against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
Having not played for over a year the Polish stopper kept a clean sheet against one of Europe’s best sides, and the manager says there’s been a change in the player’s approach which bodes well for his future.
“He has changed a lot, there has been a complete mental transformation in Lukasz’s attitude,” he told Arsenal Player. “He is more vocal, has more authority and mentally he absorbs the pressure of the game much better.
“He has a huge talent, which we know all about. Sometimes to go out of the game for a while helps people to mature and think about their own game. If they really want to become a better player, they think, ‘How can I become better’.
“He works on all the aspects of his game.”
It was something of a gamble to include him after such a long spell on the sidelines, but it paid off on Wednesday night at least. It seems that Fabianski is now the man with the jersey to lose and compatriot Wojciech Szczesny is going to have to work hard to get his place back.
True competition? We shall see, Swansea may tell us more, but for now it’s in Fabianski’s hands.
Well done Fab.
Although its only 1 game he’s gone from flappyhandski to fabulouski and made us all erm happyhandski 🙂
Yeah I know, I’ll get my coat.
Good on him.
I would also love for him to continue against Swansea. But we have to point out that it was the defence that did most of the work on Wednesday night. Fabianski saved one shot, from the bald headed dutch cunt in the second half, but almost all of the Bayern shots were desperate wild attempts from outside the box, after the barricades created by our defence. But credit to the goalkeeper for mopping up everything else that got past the human wall.
He has gone from Bruce Wayne to Batman. Or Bruce Banner to Hulk. Or Tyler Durden to Tyler Durden.
Fair play to him but I’ll reserve judgement until after he’s had a 4-5 game run (I remember Almunia doing a decent shift at Camp Nou when Szceh bust his digits). Until then I think a decent GK has to be on our shopping list this summer.
Would be more happy to see TV5 dropped again. He’s never hit his debut season form and our most solid performances this year have been Merterscienly-based.
Agreed. He needs a solid run, not one good game here & there. All of these keepers (even back to Lehmann) seem to be good shot stoppers but their decision making is questionable. The good news is he’s probably got 15 years + ahead of him!
we need a clemence/shilton situation but with poles in goals, to put it in a nutshell
With the current Arsenal keepers, I find it’s better when they don’t get a good run in the team. Perhaps it’s confirmation bias, but they all seem to do well for the first few games they play, then have a complete collapse in form.
So give them 4-5 games each in rotation and they’ll look like world beaters all the time.
In fact that observation can be extended to players like Ramsey, Oxlade, Vela, Denilson, Vermaelen, Djourou…… Im sure there are others. Our players look the sheez, and then seem to drop off in from once they have “made it”. Personally I think this is not necessarily down to lack of squad depth, but down to lack of rotation. Wenger plays his best eleven regardless of their form if fit.
The potentially good thing about this run is that both of our keepers are healthy. This means they will have to actually genuinely compete with one-another to take the role. Not many things bring the best out of someone confortable in their role, competition would be a great place to make it happen.
Also, I think this mental break will do Szczesny some good. If anyone saw the pre-game interview with Lehmann, he spoke of how Wenger gave him a mental break and it actually spurned him to come back stronger.
So much potential win with this move.
This just might be the kick up the arse Szczesny needs to get back to his best form. If we’re being honest, he’s not been at his best sense the end of last season.
From the beginning he was vocal, barking at the defense and shouting for the midfield to close down. Even shouted at Theo to run down the wing and stop staring at his feet. Long may it continue 😀
Anyone who gives little lord Theo the occasional slap-down is alright in my book
Remember Jenko’s ‘fuck off’? I know it was Jenko’s fault but it still felt nice. Theo thinks too much of himself :e
You wouldn’t see Theo trying to mug off that perennial twunt Shreeves either
Little Lord Theo.Love it.Could stick unless he stops being a peripheral player.
Rightly so.
He really brought his A game vs bayern. Wenger issues this type of statement and the daily mail goes crazy. Already saying sczseny is leaving this summer…
Got to laugh at the Mail and all the rest seems like any player who is rested or rotated for even 1 game now – that’s it, you’re out the door with a boot in the backside to send you on the way! Having said that though, its clear that there’s something going on behind the scenes here a little bit more than just losing form and being benched for a game or two. Those supposed quotes from Arteta.. if they are genuine, then that’s pretty shocking, Arteta does NOT strike me as the sort of player/person who would leap… Read more »
Did not see the match but everything being said from the team management and people who watched the match seems very positive. Looking forward to seeing him against the Welsh side, not to mention even Gervinho. Jury’s still out though barring another in’jury’. Never got my coat in the first place…
U should be ashamed of that Maestro 😉
Nice to see all the daggers being pulled from his back. I hope fabs can prove to everyone that his form in training can be transferred to the pitch. He is a talent that I’d like us to keep.
He has to play or Wednesday was pointless. He can make mistakes but he’s not alone in this squad in doing that this season. We have no excuses for a poor performance on Saturday. We have a rested squad and one that should be full of confidence. We can get beat, Swansea are a very good team but we cannot accept anything less than the effort that was put in against bayern. No more hollow words or excuses from this team. Personally I think fourth is a piss poor return for the fans this season but it is what it… Read more »
This makes me happy. There is nothing worse for a player than a comfort zone, as it makes them feel indispensable. With Lukas now reclaiming the No. 1 jersey, Wojiech now has to display even better form than that which he displayed to take it from Lukas in the first place. I was really hoping Ryo would come good this season, and knock my current Arsenal fav (Theo) off of his perch of comfort and remind him that he can’t just walk into the starting line up with a guaranteed spot every week.
Amazing how opinions have changed over the course of 90 minutes in Munich. Mine included. Hope he takes his 99th chance to stake his claim as arsenal no1. Has been unlucky with injuries. Did wenger mention anything about TV5? Hope he continues with same policy and sticks with Kos.
Yeah not wrong, that’s the big one for me. Increasingly obvious that making TV captain was a pretty dreadful move all round. He’s GOT to stick with Kos for me, absolutely no doubt there. He never should have been the one to be dropped in the first place, and if it wasn’t for the genius move of giving the captaincy to TV he wouldn’t have been. Far and away our best CB for me, he was an absolute rock last season and can’t help but think if he’d been allowed to carry on from that this season we might well… Read more »
Yes, in hindsight making TV5 captain may have been a mistake but it was the obvious choice at the time.
small teams with much words!spuds,swan they dance b4 the music is played! we shall see
Er, what? You Eric Cantona in disguise by any chance? That sounds like the sort of completely bizarre statement he’d come out with…
what a bellend.
I always thought he was a bit harshly criticised, before his injury when he was finally able to put a string of games together he was excellent
Schezzer is a top goalie no doubt, I can’t help but feel he’s being judged a wee bit harshly, our defence has not at all made his work easier in these recent weeks. A break though will do him great good I just know this, he needs to get his head in the right place, some pressure off his tender shoulders too. He’ll be back in a better frame of mind perfect for the run in!
Remember these quotes from Wenger:
“Let me surprise you: Lukasz Fabianski could become the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, even better than Wojciech Szczesny”, claimed Wenger.
“He has incredible skills and dynamics. His problem is psychological – he relives his every mistake or moment not playing. I was hoping that the Euro 2012 Championships might help him; his injury is a great misfortune.’
these kinds of quotes used to excite me but the injury sagas of diaby rosicky and the like have ripped many a dream from my grasp.
Nothing like having a louder and less talented person, being preferred, to put a bit of fire on the lad. Must have drove him mad 🙂
Well we are really gonna leave it in Fabianski’s hands. Hope he comes good. I remember that game at Udinese where he also had a motm performance. He should be given his chance when he plays well
Nice 1 Lukas, hope he can have a good run, and build some confidence.
On a side point, was nice to see the Enfield boys have such a lovely long run around in Italy, I’m going to tuck ‘Inter’ some spaghetti for lunch.
Coats on, taxi on way 😉
AW must not change a winning team unless because of injury. If Gibbs not fully recovered, then Monreal comes in. Thats it!!
The other players who under performed abit at Munich stay because the victory was after all a whole team effort and they were paet of the team. But they need to up.their game or the subs come in. . .earlier in the game.
After the FABulous performance against Bayern, staying with Fabianski against Swansea tomorrow is much more of a “no-brainer” than Roy Hodgson recalling Rio Ferdinand. Now, Arsenal fans can rest assured the GK won’t be giving cocky pre-match interviews to Playboy magazine in Poland. Schezzers will be back – no doubt – one of the best raw goalkeepers in the world. This is exactly the shock he needs to mature and it really should’ve happened earlier this season. After edging out Inter Milan and Bucharest, Spuds and Chelski are still in the Mickey Mouse League so nothing stopping us overcoming 7pt… Read more »
The whole “complete mental change” thing makes it sound like Wenger locked Fab in a room for months and brainwashed him.
Good luck to him. Clearly a hard worker and a sensible guy.
It’ll be interesting to see how Szczesny reacts.
Can we now have a complete mental change from Thomas Vermaelen too please, preferably
back to how he was two seasons ago?
I hope the whole starting 11 stays, bar for Gibbs if he’s injured but Monreal is ample cover. We really were a unit in Munich, and every single player did their part in some way. The only thing I’d say is we need to improve on the passing, especially midfield, that was a bit off by our usual high standards. But I will also say that Ramsey and Arteta put in a massive defensive shift protecting our defense and Ramsey and Rosicky both had vital roles to play in that first goal. So overall I can’t be mad about anything,… Read more »
ramsey walcott vermaelen,rosicky, sorry this is a blog about FABIANSKI doing well and every1 seems to like picking on our own players on unrelated posts, we were all wanting walcott to sign, now he has were moaning bout him and praising ramsey, ok ramsey has been doing well, great player but i have to wonder, 2 goals from walcott and a 50/50 ramsey will you all be on the hater wagon again? if you cant keep on topic, atleast be unbiased and reasonable.