Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Wojciech Szczesny is close to agreeing a loan move with Roma.
Earlier in the week the keeper’s decision to follow a host of the Italian side’s players on Instagram snowballed into speculation of a move to the Serie A giants.
We here at Arseblog News weren’t particularly convinced by the rumours, in part because the Pole had been clear about his willingness to learn from new boy Petr Cech, however, it appears there is substance after all…
Speaking at his pre-Emirates Cup press conference the boss confirmed that he is sanctioning a season-long deal with the Italian club while underlining that Szczesny still has a future at Arsenal.
“Szczesny will not be involved [this weekend] because he might move to Roma. I hope I can give 90 minutes to every player.
“He [Szczesny] could go. We are pretty much done, it’s down to paperwork.
“Yes [we are happy]. Szczesny is a top class goalkeeper and we have three who are all top. For one of the keepers, if he can play somewhere it is good.”
Quizzed as to whether sending Szczesny on loan is a risk – even though the club also have David Ospina on the books – Wenger admitted there was a chance it could back fire.
“I agree with you, that is the question that comes to mind,” he said.
“How much can he grow with Cech next to him if he is happy to share his huge experience? How much mentally can he live with the fact that he will not play regularly?
“I believe he will have a future at Arsenal because I rate him highly. I don’t want the opportunity he had at a young age to be wasted.
“He was open-minded [about the move]. He was ready for a fight here and he was ready to go somewhere and play. I believe he trusts me on that.”
It looks as though Petr Cech and Emiliano Martinez will share the glove-butlering duties this weekend as the Gunners take on Lyon and Wolfsburg. David Ospina will be due back in training next week after his international exploits with Colombia at the Copa America.
I trust Wenger on this one. (Is someone going to make a “when in Rome” joke?)
Looks like Szczecin has been Podolskied.
Ruthless from Wenger. I like that.
This way we keep all our keeper options open, including Martinez. Let´s give ourselves one year and then decide whom do we want. This will give enough time to see Ospina, enough playing time for Szczesny, a top-top quality number 1 Keeper in Cech and a future potential in Martinez. Great decision.
not sure it’s ruthless. I think it’s a smart move for Szcz as well. He might improve by playing in a different league and learning from new coaches. I wish him all the luck!
If we face Roma in the CL, does Szcz have to sit or can he play the game? I’m not sure if the rules are the same in the CL. Didn’t Courtouis face Chelsea when playing for Athletico?
I’m pretty sure he’d be cup-tied.
Only if he’d played for us in the Champions League before leaving, and since we don’t have qualifiers, that’s impossible unless Szcz doesn’t leave until January.
Not really ruthless, just smart.
Courtious was on loan at A.Madrid for 2 seasons. I can see the same being done for Chez, and if he does well, return o stake his claim and maybe even do a little déjà vu on Cech.
As I said in the comments of the rumour post: loaning out Szczesny makes a lot of sense to me. What he’s lacking to be a great goalkeeper is mostly consistency, and not making mistakes. It seems to me that those things are much easier to improve when playing regularly than when sitting on the bench, regardless of how good the players you train with are. Also, I expect we’ll see either Martinez or Ospina leave as well. Most likely Martinez on loan, but after the season he had last year (a couple of very solid performances for Arsenal and… Read more »
I wonder if this is a wake up call for him. Roma are a good team and serie a is a good standard but for sure it is a step down. Hopefully he will realise what life is like away from the Arsenal and buck his ideas up. He could be a great keeper one day.
i think the loan move will do him good if his stay there is not another Viviano kind of loan. Playing time and an opportunity to face a differrent kind of attack from epl cannot be underestimated. If he can stand his ground with a different defensive line and make it he could be our Courtois.
One thing is for sure; I’ll be watching more Roma games this season. Hope he plays…need to do my own assessment. Lol!
Plus you want to see more Gervinho. Admit it.
Eh, he didnt bugger off to get his own heli and private beach yet?
Hopefully he’ll learn as much from de sanctis as he would from cech.
Haven’t seen this side of the Boss in quite sometime.. I wonder what has he been smoking lately..
Kielbasa.
Don’t mind this at all, even if I did expect us to sell Ospina and groom Szczesny under Cech until ripeness. That said, given the kind of character Szczesny is, I find it hard to imagine he’d be able to sit and wait for 5 years until Cech’s age catches up with him. It’s very difficult to keep two top goalies at the same club for a consistent period. Eventually one of them will get fed up. I think this loan is a precursor to Szczesny leaving permanently, not an experience gathering exercise. In my opinion his Arsenal career has… Read more »
For the record I would prefer Szczesny to come back, just doubt he’d want to
Come back and do what? Smoke in the shower again? Honestly, his arsenal career is over and HE HAS HIMSELF TO BLAME. This is the part of Wenger that has been missing lately — the ability to cut loose deadwood and throw away kindergarten wonders for quality experienced professionals. I am glad common sense has prevailed and it is sczc who left, instead of the calm dependable OSP! It would have been a travesty of justice if a player who hardly put a foot wrong is shipped away for a combustive overrated and over confident flop. Thanks Wenger for showing… Read more »
I don’t think this is a sign of ruthlessness. I think Wenger wants what a lot of fans (myself included) want – a 5-year, mutually beneficial, Wojiech-Petr axis. The fact that this is a scenario Szczesny is unlikely to be too keen on is a separate matter.
Also, Szczesny is hardly deadwood. He’s a young, talented GK with more experience than almost any other GK in his age category.
Oh yeah?
De gea is 25, courtois is 23, OSP is 26, Neuer is 27. You cannot say with confidence that szcz is better than those goal keepers. What age category are you talking about? The Victor Valdes age category or the Alumnia/Flappyianski age category. As Lord Harris said, we need a quality goal keeper. Covered in that statement is the fact that szcz is not the quality required by Wenger — I think Wenger has finally realized it, which is a good thing overall!
I didn’t say he was the best GK in the world. I said there are few 25 year old keepers who have had the experience that Szcz has had. 1st choice (ish) at the Arsenal for several years is hard to match. I’m not necessarily saying he’s better than Courtois or Neuer, I was responding to your comment that he is “deadwood” which he isnt. You say with conviction that Wenger does not think he has the quality required. Wenger said earlier today “Szczesny is a top class goalkeeper…. I believe he will have a future at Arsenal because I… Read more »
People blame Alex for the third goal vs Monaco. But I will say ospina could have done much better there. I am saying this just coz you said he hardly put a foot wrong.. Put Szcz with the same defensive unit ospina had. You will see who is better! Smoking in the shower..as if its the most heinous crime! So easy to kick when someone is down! As far as I know szcz is the only player in current group who has unconditionally committed his future to the club.! Even Jack gave a kind of diplomatic answer when he was… Read more »
In Arsene, Szczesny must trust. Go there and redeem your image.
Good luck woj. Maybe they’ll make it permanent after the loan and everyones a winner, less nervy times ahead. Bring on this feckin season already ffs.
Best of luck to Wojciech in the Roma loan. May he come back stronger and more mature. Hopefully they move Ospina on after next season.
So its the boss selling him to Roma. He suggested it to Scezeny. And Scezeny trusted him. I wait for scezeny senior to comment on this development now
So I guess benzema’s number will be #1 then? But seriously the move made more sense than selling either ospina or woj directly.
As long as there’s no option to purchase for Roma at the end, then fine. Come back and consign Cech to the bench just like Courtois did, we believe in you Sir Chesney.
Let’s be honest… even if he plays brilliantly at Roma he’s still not gonna take Cech’s place. Cech will be our 1st choice keeper for at least the next 3 years. Szcz and Ospina and anyone else have no chance to dethrone him.
i hope that he comes back a better player and more mature. serie A is a good standard and roma are a great team but hopefully he will realise what life away from the Arsenal is like. not many players leave and dont regret it under Wenger. i hope he bucks his ideas up and comes back as a genuine contender for first choice.
Ok just seen Wenger’s press conference. To translate it into a language we understand is that: 1- Lord Harris, although he always tells the truth, he is a lier 2- We have a good squad. We are happy with what we got. But if there is poaching opportunity, we will go for it. For example last year the shits sold Bale, we got Ozil. Suarez bit Chiellini and we got Sanchez. So as the rumours go, if Ronaldo punches Benitez in the face, we will get him. So chill out folks. As we all know footballers IQ, sure one will… Read more »
Liar*
at 25 most keepers could have been complete.I like szczsneys courage and wish for him to improve his judgment.his catch and awareness are above average.i think a season at roma we do him good.
After the blogs go on and on….on how it is stupid to judge just from Instagram.
Letting Szczesny go permanently will haunt us, in my humble opinion.
I would have been in favour of letting Ospina go, and keeping Szcz around under Cech, although upon second thought, maybe letting him play every week would see him develop faster, regardless of the expertise of his ‘mentor’.
Keeping the pole and seeing him letting in first shots on goals and make blunders that cost us points and 7-0 defeats would haunt us more
Well said David. People like Le Jim are purely sentimental about szcz. They quickly forget the error prone-ness he carries. It is just mind boggling that we have put up with him this long. Someone can quip that his hates also forget that he won the golden glove some seasons back. The good news is that we have the keeper he tied with that season and thank God, he is neither a smoker-in-the-shower nor a kindergarten over confident flop like smoker boy. For a second keeper, OSP is better all round. He is calm, commanding and less error prone. Plus… Read more »
tell me which 7-0 defeat we had that was his fault?
tell me in which one of those awful games where we suffered heavy defeats he did good enough to not let in some of those goals?
Goodbye Woj. Thanks for everything.
I am not sure about Szczesny tbh. I have found him to be a bit odd.
Just saying.
COYG one more sleep…
Fuck me, a goalie smoking cigarettes. Never would have happened in Adams’ day.
Thank God all average players are leaving one after the other. Am certain his stay at Arsenal has come to an end. Happy for him.
Well it wasn’t my fault. It is his own making. I don’t like him from the onset anyway..so, I care less.
Comment:@smartarse who are the goal keepers of his age he has more character than or experience? Can you just mention names? Courtois who he is older than has more exposure and experience than him, De gea who I think are mate is right now, way ahead of him, Ospina also is his mate also show more experience than him. What of Neuer? Ter stengen? Etc…..this people are ahead of him
The good thing about this is it seems Arsenal proposed the idea to szczesny rather than him moaning and asking to leave. If he was serious about learning from cech and Wenger is serious about his future this seems like a perfect solution
thank God Chesney is gone! that’s all there is to say really..
All your ‘funny’ instagram/bebo nonsense suddenly looks pretty daft doesn’t it blogs.
Why? You think we should start using social media as sources of transfer information? Honest question.
And what I said right at the start of that post was, “I mean, there’s no good reason for him to do that other than to let people know he was on the verge of a move there, right? Genuinely, it’s so deliberate you can’t help but think there’s a reason for it.”
But if you’re asking me not to err on the side of skepticism when it comes to stuff like this in future, that’s not going to happen.