Arsene Wenger says Wojciech Szczesny is working harder than ever in training as he looks to win back his place in Arsenal’s starting eleven.
The Pole, who hasn’t featured in the Premier League since capping his error-ridden performance at Southampton with a ciggy in the showers, has been benched in place of David Ospina for most of January with the Colombian handed a chance to prove himself against Stoke and Manchester City after an initial run out in the FA Cup win over Hull.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game with Aston Villa, Wenger admitted he’s been impressed by Szczesny’s attitude as he looks to put his disciplinary problems behind him.
“Of course he works very hard. He has responded very well. He is 100 per cent committed in training and works harder than ever.
“At the moment, the competition is there. I just always have to make the decision who plays the next game.
“For me that is the most important when a player is questioned at some stage – how he responds shows you his strength of character, and on that front Wojciech has done extremely well until now.”
Having watched Ospina keep three consecutive clean sheets this month it seems unlikely that Szczesny will return to first team action this weekend. Indeed, you suspect it could take an injury or major gaff on the part of his Colombian teammate before he’s given another chance on the main stage.
Hopefully he won’t be “Number 1” again until next season…
I hope by this you mean “I hope Ospina is amazing all season”
Yes I do
There’s a calmness and maturity about Ospina that fills me with a lot more confidence than I have with Szczesny. He comes across as quiet, introverted and highly professional whereas Szczesny can come across as extroverted and arrogant. Those are character traits you want in a striker but not so much in a goalkeeper in my opinion. Jens Lehman may be an exception to that but he made some pretty bad decisions at times.
David – self proclaimed – “safehands” Seaman?
Schmichel, Khan….
yeah right, then mad Jens who was arrogant and extroverted was a shit player? Your are 100% wrong. Everybody here seems to forgot that Szcz is only 24, and has the talent to become a top class GK, and time like this when he is droped will be great experience for him and learning for his mistakes to become a better player.
24, Golden glove winner, will improve, Polish national keeper (kept a clean sheet against the World Champions a couple of months ago), grew up with Arsenal’s youth teams, father a goalie, goalies need to be confident and even crazy (he is both) , best years of his career are ahead of him. Will make mistakes, all goalies do, just they are higher profile than most other players.
We would be crazy not to want him to stay.
agree 100%…for me he IS the number 1, he just needs to mature more
talented….definitely!…cocky….yes!, but this is not always a bad thing ……..i think because he has been performing consistently at the top level at a young age for a while now makes us all (myself included) tend to forget that he is still very young for a goal keeper.
if we lose him?..it will be our loss because there will be plenty of suitors from our rivals, so lets be patient with him…..he is still learning and will get better.
I agree. Usually when other players make a mistake its either a missed opportunity to score or a bit of panic in the defence. But if a goalie makes a mistake its almost always a goal. You can bottle a chance for a goal and still correct the mistake by scoring later but you can’t reverse a goal conceded due to your own individual error
Yes we are aware that when someone properly scores, goalie or otherwise, the score does not ever revert back down. The bigger question is what qualifies as an ‘individual error’ by the goalie. In my opinion, it’s very simple – if he made himself vulnerable to the opposition, i.e. poor positioning, drops the ball, bad distribution that gets intercepted etc. Fun feature, google lets you search via website using a simple colon function (grow up). If you type, [arseblog: “had no chance”] into google search it will search all arseblog related content with that exact phrase. See how many times… Read more »
Ciggs ruin shit… That’s all they do… RUIN SHIT! :/
Sell him, doesn’t fit the ethos of the club, too arrogant
You don’t think that maybe we should wait for the results of this lesson in humility to be in before drawing that conclusion?
That’s true, and Henry was always a paragon of humility, which is why he has a statue outside the Emirates.
Does the G in your name stand for gastroenteritis? Because that comment was just crap… With full puns intended
Mate, please no gastroenteritis references… I’m currently suffering from it. *quelch*
Competition working wonders. Only one winner here – Arsenal FC.
Hope this doesn’t have to be a running theme.
Does great.
Becomes complacent.
Performance dwindles.
Axed.
Improves.
Gets reinstated.
Does great.
….
….
i’ts exactly what he has been doing for the last three seaons even if he’s still young. but compare his attitude to high level goalkeepers of his generation(Lloris, De Gea, Courtois , even Ospina who is also quite young ) he is too immature.
Arsene should stop with this project youth shit! Once for all.Bring youth in when they are gems in and out of the field.period
Courtois is, Ter Stegen, Karius and De Gea are three goalkeepers all younger than Szczesny but also more mature. I think Szczesny’s personality is his anchor that wont let him escape the bonds of mediocrity. Yes he won the golden glove last season, but with a defense that was rock solid and averted most chances akd only allowed shots from outside the box. A keepers quality jecome more apparent in games where sh*t hits the fan and you could really need a good goalie to pull you through like De Gea have done numerous times for United this season despite… Read more »
Thank you! finally someone who gets that his golden glove was due to the way we defended last season (and because cech suffered an injury at the end of the season). We defended well and only conceded shots outside the box, except in some games and in those games szcesny wasnt too well, you could argue he couldnt have done anything in the those trashings we suffered, but comparing him with the likes of the gea atm, you have to wonder
Szczesny’s stats have been dubious over several years in terms of shots to save ratio.
Today’s ‘Independent’ has current Premier League stats for goalkeepers and has Szczesny ranked in the bottom half at 14th place I believe. Last year he was boosted by the defense in front of him.
To be honest, the more alarming fact is he purportedly enjoys the worst record concerning conceding goals from the very first shot. It’s the idea of not being prepped for action combined with the deflating nature of giving a way the first goal that needs to be questioned.
He has some real talent, raw talent that needs some pol(e)ishing. He also needs to work on hos mentality, which is a big part of a goalkeepers performances. The fact he is finally getting competition for the no 1 spot will make him progress a lot, its either that or head first out.. 🙂
He has feet of clay, can’t catch a decent cross and diddles with the ball at foot … smoke him please b4 he fucks up next year’s squad . NB: hope he proves me wrong but doubt it. His Dad is also a liability.
Wouldnt sell him . Maybe season on loam for me. Im not his biggest fan. But he is young and could be a great keeper if he works out the kinks.
ps the smoke in the shower was he in the nip having a wash and smoke
or
was he hiding in there dressed and smoking??
I would assume he had kept the hot water on to evade smoke detectors etc.
It’s Ospina’s place now, and I can’t imagine him letting it go without a fight (in the showers).
I really hope he gets back to form, he’s an incredible keeper when he’s on it. Put it like this, I agree with those saying you wouldn’t expect most goalkeepers to have saved either goal against Brighton, but I kind of would have expected Szczesny to have saved at least one of them, he’s THAT good a shot-stopper at his best.
I disagree. I don’t expect him to make low-percentage saves, although his double save against Newcastle (I think) WAS spectacular. We KNOW he’s capable of making great saves; I just don’t expect him to do so. I’m not saying that he won’t become great, and let’s hope he does, but I have maybe never thought, “szcz has this under control”
I think Ospina is plenty good, but I also haven’t seen him do anything that I wouldn’t expect szcz to do as well or better, especially when it comes to distribution or catching. Perhaps it’s just familiarity which makes me feel more confident with szcz in goal, for now there’s no point dropping Ospina as you don’t fix what isn’t broke
OooooooooooSpina
see kids, what happens when you smoke in the showers!
Shouldn’t even be smoking as a professional footballer, shame on Szczesny and Wilshire! Outcome – Don’t make the best 11…
cruyff was smoking like shit, hasnt stop him been quiet good.
i dont smoke, i dont see the point but if you do its his own business and health . but in a sport where everything is reported and at a times when everyone can be offended thanks to the PC brigades , he should have been smoking only at home,
Wenger has say he doesnt care as long its away from public view
Our ‘keepers all seem to improve once dropped, Ospina deserves his place for the timebeing. Arsenal benefiting from strong competition for places.
RobM the results are crystal clear, woz is on the bench come game time, looking like a big tosser. Still, has a great future ahead, and with the gunners.
I like Sir Chez but I hope Ospina gets a fair crack of the whip and is only dropped if and when his performances merit it.
I see now the claws are been sharpened for Szcezny. No need to make a big deal of the situation. Keepers are also allowed to suffer from loss of form, disciplinary problems and a stint on the bench. There is no shame in it as he is doing exactly whats right to rectify the situation and take his chance when called upon again. His ability doesnt have to come into question every time. Dont forget that he is an asset as he is classed as home grown so his value to the club should be reflected accordingly
A lot people seem to forget that sczezesny was joint winner of the golden glove last year,great aaccomplishment given his age,if he can work on his decision making and controlling his ego he will become world class no doubt,he’s still only 24 and when he’s 28 or 29 we’ll be comparing him with the best keepers in the world
and he would have won with one more clean sheet if wenger didn’t give fabianski a farewell game, on the last day of the season.
and he probably wouldnt have win the golden glove if Cech wouldnt have suffered an injury
Fabianski deserved that game. Szczesny always seems to do something really idiotic in high pressure situations, and I don’t believe we’d have that cup if he’d been in goal for the semi final or the final. I’ll be happy to see Ospina keep his place as I’ve lost confidence in Szczesnys ability to control himself, and the way he grabbed that water bottle after the second goal at Southampton was just plain weird.
Yeah and a lot of people seem to ignore the other Golden Glove winner Peter Cech is not first team choice either.
come on look at his stats every shots on target against us would probably go in when he is between poles
If he only plays cup games from now on, I don’t think Szcz would mind being between the poles when we lift the FA Cup.
There is always that. But it does give the manager a problem with who’ll play in the Champions’ League final.
Woj is still so young I am not concerned with him sitting for a period of time as long as Ospina does well.
let him warm the benches a bit longer…he is so arrogant
Pls dont compare Szcz with Seaman or Lehman. Both were best GKs we ever had. One keep for England, the other for Germany…..and have made many many wonderful saves for us. Simply incomparable….especially at this stage of Szcz age.
Agree on the age, though you are comparing the best bits of two legends to a 24 year old. Take into account the CL Final for a start.
Where were those two at 24- were they internationals for example? -start there and let’s see.
Bob Wilson sez hello.
I would feel sorry for Ospina to fall back in pecking order when Szczesny comes back in form. It would almost feel like Ospina was brought in the club just to help Szczesny develop as a player, rather than have a genuine chance at being a first team goalkeeper at Arsenal. I see many comments about Szczesny’s tender age for a keeper (which I agree) but isn’t Ospina just a year or two older than him? I don’t believe discipline is a question of age, but rather one’s personality. I hope neither satisfy their career goals until they help the… Read more »
Szesny is good. He was outstanding when Poland played Germany last time. Ospina is known in France as ‘Le Mur’ meaning the Wall. That says something. No doubt both are good. But really if your goal keeper is the man of the match then you should ask questions to your defence. A leaky defence always highlights how a goal is good or bad. No one noticed how crap was fabian bartez because at manure and france he was always surrounded by decent defence.Anyway may the most consistent get in the staring 11. Amen.
I’ve seen nothing out of Ospina that suggests he is heads and tails above Szcz. Ospina has benefitted from a more consistent defence, where Szcz had to deal with makeshift lineups, even in the FA cup.
Sure, Ospina didnt saved our butt in the champions league game against Galatasaray when Szc got stupidly sent off….
I rate both but quality outfield players have to accept games on the bench & WS1 has to do the same for now in Prem games. If Ospina is left out he can feel very hard done by!
The important question is, has the silly bugger given up smoking yet? He’s not got, or shouldn’t have, the excuse of feeling lopsided in the pub without a fag in one hand, so giving up should be easier for him than for all us pot-bellied pissheads that have successfully given up. If I did it then he can do it. I’d like to think that after his long and successful career with us he’ll be able to then have a long and successful goalkeeper coaching career with us too, and keeping his health and fitness after he retires from playing… Read more »
He only made one gaff in the Southampton game………….the defense generally was a collective basket case, and smoking Szcz has taken ALL the blame.
Hes a good bloke and a good keeper and we will hopefully see him again at the top level.
If Szczesny and Wilshire stop taking a fag, then only then do they have a chance of making the starting XI. I’ve been listening a lot in Bio class to educate myself the effects it has on health and fitness. I’m only 16 and even I know better, plus I don’t get paid over 3 million a year…
Not much mentioned of how Wenger has finally fixed what use to be an Achilles heel for the team. We now have genuine depth in the Keeper department. As we have across the team with plenty of youthful promise backed up by real experience in every position. This has been a rebuilding in the making since Wenger realised the Denilson generation was a wash out. he steadied the ship with Arteta who has been important in so many ways. Added Per and Koscielny to rebuild from the back. The rebuilding was hampered unfortunately by some financial constraints and more importantly… Read more »
squaka currently ranks szcz 17th in the league. fabianski is in 1st spot. looks like we kept the wrong keeper.
All jokes aside..Sczcz is potentially one of the best keepers we’ve ever had,and we’ve had some gooduns.With strength in depth in that area now,props to the club for making it so and let’s carry on with this confidence as a team and unite as gunners.
Hooray!
actually, it looks like fabianski was one of the better keepers we’ve had