Lukasz Fabianski has confirmed there have been times during his Arsenal career when he’s been desperate to move to a new club and admits he’ll be forced to assess his future again in January unless he gets game time.
Able to leave the club on a free at the end of this season, the Polish keeper revealed that talks with Arsene Wenger persuaded him to stay at the Emirates in the short-term, despite interest from several clubs during the transfer window.
“The boss recently talked to me about the situation,” Fabianski told przegladsportowy.pl.
“He said he wanted me to stay at the club and that if I worked just as before, I’d get my chance.
“All the time I fight for my place and I try to exert pressure. My mood is good and I believe I can do it, it’s just sometimes injuries have taken their toll.”
Conceding that he’s not always been upbeat about life in North London, Fabianski touched on two previous attempts to relocate prior to his country’s hosting of the European Championships last year.
“In the January window before EURO 2012, I was very desperate [to leave].
“In the following summer window I also tried to leave, but it was impossible to complete a transfer as I wasn’t able to play due to injury.”
Reflecting on whether his performances at the tail end of last season saw clubs come in for him he continued: “Yes [there was interest], from strong clubs in strong leagues.
“It all depends how this season turns out. If I’m not playing I’ll look for something else.”
Asked whether that decision could be taken as soon as January, he stated, “Yes.”
The Polish keeper, who signed for the Gunners from Legia Warsaw in 2007, also touched on how more time in the gym has helped him overcome his fitness problems in the last year with only ‘bad luck’ side-lining him at the tail end of last season.
“Last season, in one of the matches I fell on the knee of an opponent who was lying on the ground. I cracked a rib with full force. The injury wasn’t the result of negligence on my part, just bad luck.
“From the moment I injured my ankle [in October 2012], which kept me out for a long time, I changed the way I trained. I spend much more time in the gym working on strengthening all the muscle groups.
“As a result I’ve had no major problems with injuries…well, unless you count last season’s unfortunate event.”
For all his promising form last season, it’s hard to see Arsenal offering Fabianski a contract extension let alone a deal capable of competing with those likely to be on offer elsewhere.
Granted were he to force his way into the first team in the coming months and perform consistently that could change, but it does look as though the younger Wojciech Szczesny is ensconced as Arsene Wenger’s first choice.
As such it feels like his departure next summer is inevitable and a key reason why the boss sought out Emiliano Viviano on a deal which could be made permanent.
Life as a goalkeeper is tough, but you sense Fabianski at 28-years-old has the mentality and quality to avoid a Stuart-Taylor-like existence. He seems determined to play regularly at all costs and that will stand him in good stead. Good luck to him.
Özil.
My cat is now called Öscar
Change his name to Mesut. Oscar is a shit Chelsea name.
MeÖwsut
haha fair enough, although he was already called Oscar, it was the best I could do
Don’t see the problem myself… Oscar is a pussy.
we like you, fabianski. good luck, whatever you decide to do.
I really feel bad for this guy, but he definitely didn’t do himself any favors with his performances prior to 2012 and not forgetting his injury track record. He is a good back up, but deserves first team football which we definitely cannot offer him right now will always remember his wonderful performance against Bayern last season anyway. Good luck.
I forgot what article I was reading and thought you were talking about Ozil. I was temporarily worried about your sanity.
i don’t like him. first it was psychology, now it’s injuries. not good enough and should be offloaded. and that’s coming from a pole.
Nothing new really.
His contract runs out next summer, he wants to play, guess we’ll loan him in January and then release him or, if someone’s mad enough to pay for a reserve who’ll be free 6 months later, we’ll be happy to get something from him.
We’ll miss your dance if you go..
Good luck to Fabianski. From when Almunia left the club, he has been very, very good. Had he not been injured, he could very well be number one right now. Not an insult towards Szczesny because Wojciech is one of my favourites, but remember his form before his injury when he had about 5 MOTM games in about 11 outings?
Plus he looks glorious on his palanquin
I agree with seangooner, Fab has been very unlucky throughout his time with us and IMO bounced back from his poor form than SZS. I saw the absolute howler of a slice that SZS did a couple of games back and all my doubts about him came flooding back. Nonetheless the manager appears to have made his mind up.
I hope any clubs looking at him pay close attention to how his return to form at the end of last season was critical to the whole teams defensive improvement, which is over-attributed to Mert and Kos alone.
Good luck to the flappier of our two Poles.
I hate interlulls!
stupid, boring and i have no news to distract me from work.
roll on weekend when the real footy is back and we can see Ozil make his debut.
The part that kills me (although I trust those that decide these things) is that he probably won’t start in order to be eased into the side and the English game. I’d love to be wrong about this…
He’s a better keeper than he’s given credit for, I think, but sometimes people just can’t perform on the big stage. He seems to get nervous and make ridiculous mistakes although he did well at the end of last season and certainly played his part in our final games. Funnily enough he looks almost exactly like my cousin Clive who I used ot hang around with when I was younger. One time we stole 18 bags of marshmallows from the local supermarket and got chased for about a mile by the security guard who, it turns out, was an ex-distance… Read more »
Hence, Özil!
Fucking LEGEND.
Can’t perform on the big stage. Bayern Munich. Clean Sheet. Performed on the big stage.
Bit of a shame really. I remember when we were playing the the Spanish side (yellow shirts, where Pires ended up) and Almunia almuniated himself and Fab came on.
The first thing he did was saving a screamer in the top corner. He did have his floppiness, but he know how to stop a goal..
Villareal. The Yellow Submarine.
Leave Fabianski I would offer a ride to the airport but you’re clearly not worth it……
I was going to school you on appreciation and his contribution, but it’s not worth it.
“but you’re clearly not worth it” well, I guess that’s his chance of a L’Oréal contract out of the window….
Even with the stabilisers, he’s a bit big for a backy.
Will be gutted to see him leaving. He comes across as a decent goalkeeper but we can not keep both poles happy at thesame time
Yeah same, I felt confident having him as a back-up, but unfortunatey the GK position is the hardest to rotate as opposed to a 3rd choice defender or 2nd choice striker.
All the best to him if he does leave, still young for a GK so he can still have a successful career.
Fabianski is a bigger talent then Szsc and Viviano. A shame he’s not at the same level mentally. I had high hopes for him and I would love for him to stay and become the world class keeper he has the potentional to be. Unfortionatly I think he has to leave to develop, I will wish him well and follow the rest of his career with great interest.
I say loan him out, get some playing time, let him find some form, if he’s back by the end of the season a better keeper, that’s good news for Arsenal. If things do not turn out well, then wish him all the best and hope that he finds himself a better club that can offer him more playing time.
But he’s out of contract at the end of the season. It’d be good for him, but not for Arsenal.
He’s got to be the most unlucky goalkeeper ever. He’s been blighted by a lack of confidence for years, despite being technically superb, then just as he finally shows some really good form he gets injured. I wish him all the best whatever he decides to do.
I feel so bad for him. He’d just gotten over his confidence problems, his injury days are almost behind him, and then this picture shows him being kidnapped by Templars. Some people have no luck.
They misundersood ‘second keeper’ and thought he was the second coming.
Potential Cesar snatch in January if fab leaves?
Fabianski has made some unforgivable mistakes and pretty much psyched himself out of contention by a lack of confidence which parelled Maverick, post Goose. However, I think he’s a really good number two and personally I will be sad to see him leave. Szczesny has made some catastrophic mistakes but hasn’t been vilified in the same way as Fabianski and no goalkeeper can look back at their career without blushing about certain bloopers. Wenger just never made his position tenable by having such faith in Szczesny.
The biggest difference between the two is that the Press were into burning Arsenal goalkeepers at the stake and Fabianski got caught in it along with Almunia. Chesney has never had the British Press against him and vilifying his every minor wobble like Fabianski had. This may be due to his name not being easy to take the piss out of like they did with “Flappianski”. The Press got on his case and gave him an insulting name, and all the usual Gooner suspects jumped on the bandwagon and laid into him at every opportunity too. Is it any wonder… Read more »
Oooh blogs, that’s a bit tight that picture of flappy. I did laugh though – so fair play.
His howlers in the early part of his career were so toe-curlingly embarrassing I wanted him to at least get some game time and show the world he could do it if his confidence improved. That has happened now and I feel better for him. Now if he wants to go, fair enough. He’s never going to be good enough for first choice at a club like Arsenal. Fulham or Southampton maybe… He’s too good for Spurs though.
oh no ! I saw the funny pictures of football players in the Ozil in xDball.com
ahha xDball.com
Fair play to the bloke. He is a decent number two, but could get regular game time in another team. So you can’t blame him for wanting to play. Unlike some we have had recently who were happy just to take the money and see out a fat contract.
Hope he gets a decent club if he does move on.
I love the way he’s being carried off the pitch on a sun lounger!
Fab is a good keeper but I have always felt that emotionally he is brittle. He has the air of a man that is one mistake away from turning into a jibbering wreck and when you compare that to the batshit mental personality of his team mate and fellow countryman Szcz I know whuch I rather have.
He is too injury prone to be a reliable number 2. But I will always remember him for that reaction save from David Silva’s back heel. I thought then that Fabianski finally arrived and then he soon got injured again. Poor bloke.
I blame Almunia for the way this guys career has turned out. I think fabianski has all the tools to become a top keeper but those years he speant as almunias understudy ruined him. Do you guys remember the tangable nervousness whenever a there was a cross or set piece. No suprise that mistakes started to creep into fabs game after watching butter fingers almunia week in week out. Also no suprises he upped his game was that clown left.
I blame the Press. After the Almunia show they were waiting with baited breath for Fabianski’s first mistake so that they could start their jokes about Arsenal playing without a goalkeeper. His first error or two were magnified out of all proportion to fit their “story” and so the assault on his confidence began. Press Cunts. They hate us.