Reserve team goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny has revealed his relationship with manager Arsène Wenger has broken down, and the Poland international is seeking a move away from the club. The 20-year-old cites broken promises behind their now fractured relationship.
Szczęsny, speaking to the ‘Gazeta Wyborcza’, has accused Wenger of back tracking on key points made during the summer and then refusing to listen to loan offers. When quizzed about life at Arsenal, the youngster ranted;
“Despite our talks before the season, Arsène Wenger seems to forget he has a goalkeeper named Wojciech Szczęsny in the team. He is avoiding me at every occasion.”
“Wenger told me to fight for a first-team place, but then he didn’t include me in the squad for the Carling Cup game. My friends told me not to worry, that it’s a marathon, and not a sprint. But a marathon isn’t about running in the same place for three years.”
When asked about whether he’d consider a move away from Arsenal, Wojciech revealed he still has his sights set on the Arsenal first-team, but he’d seriously consider a move away.
“I’m ready to play at highest level but I need a club that believes in a 20-year-old. In Arsenal there’s no such bravery. My main goal is to play for Arsenal, but if there’s a move option, we’ll have words.”
Szczęsny saw a loan move to former club Legia Warsaw collapse during the summer, and his future with the club is now far from clear.
At least make him number 2 it’s true wenger has been disrespectful to mankind and Cheever he hasn’t given them a chance
Arsene Wenger does not have a clue what a decent keeper looks like, and while he has that clown in goal we wont win nothing.
This quotes sound slightly manufactured to me, just the wording of them.
Either way I hope Wenger has a reassuring talk with him.
It may not be completely accurate but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some truth to this report. He must be very frustrated. Why didn’t Wenger just let him go on loan? Why keep him at Arsenal if he had no plans to give him a chance?
Even though Szczesny has already debuted for the full national team, in his situation right now, he has no chance of getting back in. Apparently he’s even lost his place in the Polish U21 line up. I don’t think a reassuring talk will solve the situation, he needs to get his career back on track. Wenger should let him go on loan.
Okay I’ve read the interview. It seems he really wants to go on loan but Wenger is blocking a move. That’s why he’s frustrated, not because he’s super-arrogant and believes he should play at Arsenal (as some has misinterpreted him). If Wenger has just let him go on loan, it seems he would have been satisfied.
He’s unsure what will happen with his contract situation. Despite three contract talks, Szczesny says he has the impression Arsenal aren’t really interested and he doesn’t want to play in reserves.
This is the worst news I have heard in a while. His comments are of frustration and I hope he wil be given chances later on. I agree that someone should of been loaned tho. Having 4 GK’s is too many I feel. Any one know how long is left on his contract? He cant leave….
He has contract to 30th June 2011. He said that he would like to sign extension but won’t play in reserves.
Thats worrying then, if he is not treated right soon he’ll just run the contract down and can talk to people from January and leave in summer. We should not be letting him into his last year and doing this. Or maybe this is being used by his agent for a better contract, surely Arsenal cannot of waiting till now without opening negotiations, i’m sure i’ve seen at least 20 contracts renewed on the official site from first teamers to youths, Henderson the other week, how can Szczesny be in the last year. Dont get it…
I don’t see a problem with this. This is a fighting spirit and Wenger has been looking for it. I do think four keepers was too many, especially considering we were chasing a fifth as well, so another loan spell, especially to a Prem club is a good option – perhaps Wenger was waiting for the Carling Cup to decide the right timing.
This doesn’t sound like fighting spirit to me – it sounds like he’s given up. And to be quite honest I believe it is far too early for this kid to be seeking a move elsewhere. At 20 years of age, as a goalkeeper, he cannot expect to be given too many chances at Arsenal, or any other top club for that matter. I hope he listens to his friends. It is a marathon, and he has barely started it! Having said that, I fully understand his frustration at not being allowed to go back out on loan. He needs much more experience in my opinion, and the only way he’s going to get that is out on loan.
Yes I agree, it is a bit petulant but at the same time frustrating. GK is one of the worst positions as a youngster i would imagine, as he is not likely to be thrown in for the last 20 mins etc for a “run out” thus being re-assured he is in the thinking. He’s no. 3/4 at the club (4 by the sounds of the potential squad tonight) and our no.2 hasnt had a minute and is only 5 yrs older. no. 3 is around the same age…he may be thinking he cant see a way through. I think he’ll be patient but we all know he is a very determined and ambition man
I agree with you completely it a sign of someone who want to play, It a right attitude and The problem now seem to be Arsenal fan rather than Wenger. Any player who is happy to play second fiddle does not deserve to play for Arsenal full stop. Plus where are all these moaning supporters coming from even some are criticising former players like Henry as bottlers. We are becoming victim of Newsnow Arsenal all sources loool
Some blogs and website seem to be completely anti-Arsenal why? Bloody hell just enjoy the game and get behind the team or we would lose all good players. In Cesc Fabregas case we have seen pressure from fans has led him to consider moving to Barcelona due to constant moaning on luck of trophies.
Wenger is very stubborn man but he need to see things clearly or face disaster in long run etc With last year injuries he should have bought more players, Heaven forbid if Aluminia is injured who would replace him?
Not fabianski hope he get his act together or goodbye
he’s not ready
he flys home 3 or 4 times a week
Bet you this ends up as being ‘misquoted’ and everything is fine and Szczęsny stays – he’ll play against Spurs…
I do not believe this story. I believe he has been misquoted and his comments have been sensationalised.
Erichero you have a point, as long as his goal is to play for Arsenal thats all that matters at present. But if he cant see a way through he may look elsewhere. Someone needs to go on loan in January, whether its him or Mannone. Either so he has less people in front of him or so he gets experience elsewhere. I’m hoping Krul has a shocker for Newcastle so they come calling for someone on emergency loan as I think they only have him fit and a 20 yr old from the youths. Throw them Fabianski?? Good move for all…
oh no please all our hopes is to wait for Wojciech to became our no.1 GK and finish the disaster we have in the Goal Plase don’t go
Wenger needs to promote this guy above fabianski, I thought the whole reason for going after Mark Schwarzer/no one was to give Szczesny time to develop into our new number 1. He aint gonna do that rotting in the reserves.
He’s clearly miles better than Fabianski and Mannone anyways so bloomin play him already.
What good would him being number 2 be? he needs to play every week, not sit on the bench and play once a month in the carling cup.
A loan to a Championship side is what he should be aiming for, IMO.
what a brilliant ‘character’ this guy is
What was the point in not letting him go on loan this season if he wasn’t even going to be in the CC squad!?! But what top club has got a 20yr old as 1st choice keeper, quite bad for someone so young to be coming out with a quote like this.
“But what top club has got a 20yr old as 1st choice keeper”
Manchester City – Joe Hart
Real Madrid – Iker Casillas
Newcastle – Shay Given
Given that Arsene’s mantra for the last 6 years has been “if you’re old enough, you’re good enough”, it’s a disgrace that Wenger has never been able to call someone less than 30 years old his number one.
casillas was no 1 at real when he was 18 and this kid is just as good as he was
You named a total of 3 examples lol and Joe Hart was not that great in the first team at 20 hence he then got loaned out. If Szczeny started, he would end up making a few mistakes and than the moron fans would boo him like they always do (Eboue) and that would most likely demoralize him. I can’t imagine the pressure Fabianski feels every time he walks out there.
What I also don’t understand is wenger going for scwarzer that must have hacked chesney and mannone off
@ Joe: De Gea and Chezzer is similar with better controlling of his box!!!
Just saying it’s not really common, and its abit early for a keeper to be getting pissed off at not playing(and airing his views) at 20 yrs of age.
if someone is picked over you called Flapianski I can understand him but perhaps all is lost in translation. We will have to wait and see. Hope he starts tonight or Flappy has a blunder again which would be best. Anyway we will win 3-1 with flappy in goal or a clean sheet with Chezzer.
Maybe Wenger doesn’t think much of the Polish league and would rather he played reserve football!
I also blame the fans and media everyone knows we need a new goalie can you imagine the pressure he would be under everyone will be looking at him if he makes one mistake it could kill his career
He’s acting like any talented youngster would act in his position and he’s right if wenger wont play then he should be loaned out
Wenger does have him in his mind or he wouldn’t have gone for Schwarzer in the summer
Its a difficult situation patience is not easy thing to find in a youngster
But it does sound like he wants a loan and after these comments wenger will have to look into the situation
I am worried, there is nothing wrong with him wanting more action but it does seem according to this article that he has had a bust up with Wenger and we all know how stubborn Wenger is. I really hope this doesn’t ruin his chances, I do NOT want Fabianski as the future goalkeeper! it must be so frustrating for him showing all these decent performances while a flapping clown gets put in front of u
Although he has a point and really should have gone on loan if he wasn’t getting a look-in here, just who the fuck does he think he is!? He ain’t done shit yet and should learn some respect!
That is, of course, if these quotes are completely accurate.
Well, I think Flaphandski should be sold and Mannone and Szczesny should be given some chances specially the forgotten poor Mannone
It doesn’t really matter if the quotes are real or not, the fact is he’s a goalkeeper who’s got Lukasz Fabianski ahead of him in the squad. It doesn’t matter whether you’re at a Premier League club or floundering in the Polish 3rd Division; Fabianski being rated even close to your ability is enough to question where on earth your career is going.
when, and sadly it will happen, fabianski costs us again tonight, then chezzers can feel completely hard done by. fabianski has only shown blunder after blunder at this club, hes cost us more than any other keeper has in such a short space of time.. how many chances can you give someone until you HAVE to realise they are incompetent.. at least give real potential a go
if fabianski makes a blunder then he needs to go on loan
If you dont like the current arrangement. LEAVE
theres 10000000 other people that will die to be in your position!!!
Having disagreement isn’t the same as launching attack on someone, that headline way over the top and will only create a problem that doesn’t exist.
I’m from Poland and these quotes are rather true. There is full interview with him.
sport.pl/pilka/1,73556,8403721,Wojciech_Szczesny__Zasluguje_na_wiecej.html
The weirdest thing is that he said “Wenger won’t let me go to the other team on loan because he needs me” Need for what? reserve league? I thought at least Carling Cup will be his.
thats why he is getting annoyed, because wenger says ‘oh i need you here’.. but for what? ..surely mannone/fabianski/shea play the reserve games and fabianski in for the carling cup, chezzers isnt playing at all even though he had an excellent time last season.. .
Wenger rates him highly. Hope he does not fuck that up. I remember some place AW said he is the future Arsenal No.!
He probably saw the Carling Cup as his chance to shine, now he’s not being given it. Instead Flappy gets more playing time in the vague hope he might get better, which given all the second chances he has had so far in his career, is unlikely.
Mannone is far better than Schyzney.i dont know why many of u fans keep disrespecting him.if Fab has to drop out of no 2,Manonne takes over.
Mannone is not in the same class szezney!
Who gives a to$$.
He is just another youngster who has had a decent half season in the lower leagues.
Why everyone thinks this guy is the new messiah in GK terms baffles me! He has no right to mouth off as he’s done nothing to warrant it. He isn’t better than Almunia so why does he think he’s worth a 1st team shot?
Get rid of him, if he’s too big for his boots. Smack of another David Bentley for me!
He had an absolutely fantastic season at Brentford, with many of their fans saying he was the best keeper they’d ever had at the club at just 19 years old. he’s very highly ranked in Poland and has shown what a talent he is in reserve games as well.
Stop spouting garbage please, we would be absolutely daft to get rid of him, especially with the huge need for a goalkeeper.
In many respects MONTY i agree…however what i think Szczesny has above all of the other keeps in our squad is the ability to pull off the save that he shouldnt make….With time and experience he will develop his presence, command of the area, kicking, communication (which are believe are quite strong already) and all of the other qualities top class goalkeepers have, but he reflexs are out of this world. I believe that is what seperates him from the other keepers at the club. Someone also mention Havard…his situation has worried me too…look how good he was in pre-season..i hope the contract team are working hard on these two…
Wait a minute??? Arsene has confirmed he is the Carling Cup keeper so what is this all about????
See ya Chesney! Some snot nosed 20 year old making demands about playing first team for one of Europe’s great clubs? Don’t think so mate.
This attitude is probably why Wenger didnt pick you in the first place. Learn from Pennant and Bentley.
This is bad management this kid was great at brentford last season and would have been my no 2 this season if not then I would have loaned him to a lower PL side or failing that a championship one.
This boy has huge ability and I thought would be a Arsenal great for years to come? its worrying someone with that much potential contract expiries in 12m actually its a f**king disgrace he should have been tie down.
I would say Nordveit will leave too his contract expiries in 12m time and yet he is not been giving a chance ( I know he is injury for tonights match).
These players should be tied down and if it’s not working loaned out with a view to being sold its just common sense . I will be extremley pi**ed if Wenger doesnt fix this… a GK with great natural ability being jerked arounded next thing those c**nts Utd could potential pick up too of our best young talents for nothing!!!!!
Or Szczesny will get the FA Cup. I hope that…
What’s going on here Wojciech?
This is The Arsenal! No player is above the club. Did Cesc Fabregas, a World Cup winner, say anything bad about his situation for the past 2 years??
Who is Wojciech Szczesny? The man with the great season at Brentford (no disrespect). If Arsene Wenger says you stay, then you stay, you fight, and you keep your thoughts to yourself. Just like Vito Mannone I guess, who has actually been here 2 years longer than you.
Yeah, Arsene Wenger, one of the most influential persons in football, is avoiding his 20yo 4th choice goalkeeper :)
Very disappointed in gooners condoning this sort of behaviour just because the kid is good. Once again, this is The Arsenal.
Wenger is known to flip flop as well.
I think we can take from Wengers quotes that Fabianski is on his last chance. Any cock ups tonight and I fully expect Sir Chesney to be promoted to cup keeper.
4 keepers is too many. Failing that a championship loan would be fine.
I knew this would happen and so did arsene!! He told us the other day what would of happened if wilshere didnt start some games!! and Szczesny is as talented as him!! (But not english!!)
If casillas can play for the mighty Real Madrid from 18 as he was good enough!! Why cant szczesny play for Arsenal (especially in the carling Cup instead of Flapihandski, how many chances as he had??
And aint wengers whole philosophy that “IF YOUR GOOD ENOUGH YOUR OLD ENOUGH”???
SMH!!!
Of course this is not good news but if there are anyone that can handle youngsters with perfection it´s Wenger. He has said that Szczesny can be a world class keeper so he will surely find a way to make him satisfied.
but why not in Carling cup? Will chezzer play in FA cup? Surely not!!! WEnger is killing him and I dont understand why!!
I think Szczesny will be the regular Carling Cup keeper, Fabanski was just preferred for this round cause it was at White hart lane, a tough atmosphere to go to and Szczesny has only played in the third division. Quite a bit of a step up.
Agree with this 100%. give him a run in the CC side.
I would concur with some posts above that suggest there could be an element of quote distortion in that article.
szczensny has a good right to complain and i dont blame him. what more can this lad to to prove that hes good enough. when he went on loan he was amazing and everytime hes bn given a chance for arsenal he has been fantastic and never put a foot wrong. also he doesnt think hes bigger than the club and people who say that are probably the same people who were saying ‘OMG what will we do if fabregas leaves, how will we go on?’ etc. no player is player is bigger than a club eh? but anyways this kid has got some of the best reflexes i have ever seen (no exaggeration) and brentford supporters were saying that hes the best keeper theyve ever had and that he could become an arsenal legend. hes waaay better than any of our other 3 goalkeepers and should be our number 1 like casillas was at real when he was 18. people who are complaining about him and calling him shut watch him play before shouting their mouths off about something they know nothing about. would you say that messi was to young to play for barca when he was 17??? this is not so different
iLL TELL U WHAT MORE HE CAN DO SHUT THE FUCK UP AND ACCEPT THAT HE IS ONLY 20 AND THAT THERE ARE 3 OTHER KEEPERS AT THE CLUB AS WELL AS OTHER KEEPERS YOUNGER THAN HIM.
It is not all about performances, as a young pro you have to be able to conduct yourself, show some respect, then take your chance when it comes. Mannone is doing that, Fabianski is doing that, Shea is doing that and so did Almunia when he was not the no.1. OK Fabianski has had more chances than him and has not been great, but bear in mind the fella has 5 years on him, has more international caps, more trophies under his belt, more player of the year awards, so he has earned the right to his 12 League appearances!! as has Mannonne to his 4 or 5. Your time will come if you show some dignity, if you cant then join the likes of Pennant, Ricketts, Sidwell and many many more and see where that takes you.
well, at least we still have Mannone….
Chris wisely wrote above that this quote feels “manufactured”. I agree, something just didn’t feel like it came out of Chez’s mouth that way.
However, if the quote is accurate….FUCK’ EM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If the quote is true Chez is either absent minded our out of his mind…”Arsenal don’t give a chance to 20 year olds…”???!!!! Really Chez….??? (Bendtner, Denilson, Ramsey, Walcott, Wilshere, Cesc, Diaby, etc. etc….) Really???
I say get rid of his mouthy-ass unless he shuts up and goes about his business and waits for AW to give him his shot. Just like all the other young players have done.
Not one young star at Arsenal has ever bullied Wenger into giving them a shot by mouting off in the press.
I love Chez. He’s a great young talent to be sure, but look what’s happened to those in the past who’ve done what he’s doing: Bentley…bye bye! Owusu Obeyei…bye bye! ‘Lass’ (what a stupid nickname)…bye bye!
If Chez, due to his attempt to manipulate Wenger via the media, goes the way of those three I won’t be crying any tears. Talent or no talent, that’s not they way Arsenal players should operate!
“Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out there Wocheck!!!!”
The only one who’s being manipulative is Wenger. Szczesny just wants some honesty and fairness. If Wenger didn’t want to give him a chance, he should have let him go out on loan! Why lie to Szczesny and manipulate him into staying at Arsenal? How is forcing Szczesny to rot in reserves going to prepare him?
If someone has already touched on this above then forgive me because I haven’t had a chance to read all the comments yet.
But If Chez made these remarks as they have been reported by JS, what may be going on is a reaction to Wengers recent comments at the shareholders meeting last week.
AW made the grand prounouncement that, “if you don’t give young players a chance, they will leave, and people will then say, ‘why did you let him go…?” Having heard this and then been left out of tonigh’s CC squad, Chez may have been left fuming. He may have felt some sort of betrayal if Wenger is stating his policy to the shareholders is to give the most gifted young guns a chance, and then he leaves him out of the biggest stage for young guns, the CC team.
…just speculation, but it could be the case…!
Either way, as was stated above, I don’t support fighting these kinds of battles via the media.
I’ll be f**king pissed if Wanker let’s him leave and keeps Flaps, f**king pissed. He’s our Cech in waiting and needs games somewhere.
Who the hell do you think you are calling Wenger a Wanke you ungrateful son of transvestite
This kind of comment from Chezz reminds me so much of Lehmann. Surely that’s not a bad thing :)
…YOINK!
yea u gotta miss jens he was one crazy bastard.
this kid is our cech, our casillas…
wenger needs to manage this kid properly or he has to splash out 10-15m on a properly decent keeper like Adler or Neuer or Lloris.
mismanaging this hugely talented young kid and potentially losing him is not what you want to do when you refuse to spend money on proven players in the market.
decide what you’re doing wenger please.
Well you can’t blame him seeing as though he’s got the worst goalkeeper in the Premier League being picked ahead of him for Carling Cup matches. That would antagonize anyone.
God…please don’t let this be another fran merida case…
hello we’re cuntslops who like to steal Jamies material but sinces he’s so clever we lost out this time – don’t worry though as always we’ll count on you to do the hardwork then copy it and pretend it’s ours!!!
If we lose him I will be gutted. Wenger is blinded by his principles made by buying Jeffers, Cygan, Quincy and the others. And now he won’t admit Fabianski is shite and wouldn’t be the first choice in any premier or championship league team.
He must feel like shit now, Szczesny, all those years of training just to watch himself rotting in the reserves. For Arsenal it’s like having a Bentley in the garage, but instead driving a Reliant Regal, f’n insane.
Wenger needs to put the club ahead of himself and it’s the perfect moment to begin.
And you sir, need to start showing some common sense.
Maybe we should all just sit tight and see what happens. I’m not panicking yet. Wenger knows a lot more than we do. I am confident that this situation will be sorted out between Arsene and Szczesny!!! Come on you Gunners!!!!! :D
YES MY BOY LANSBURY IS STARTING COME ON SON TAKE YOUR CHANCE ITS YOUR TIME TO SHINE WHAT A CHANCE
This further tells me that Wenger is losing the plot with the squad. He must listen to this young GK whom I believe is better than what we currently have.. How could you not let a quality player go on loan if you are not even going to use him in the Carling cup/ it beats me!!
You are clueless, you are basing your views on hype created by weak minded Goons who craved a better keeper than we have. What are you basing your argument on? He played for brentford FFS!
What happens if he fucked up during a game? What then?
you are an idiot mug. Did you see what flappy has done tonight? Chezzer is by far the best taltent with vito together.
Btw, Barazite scored a brace for Vitesse in the Dutch Cup tie.
Whiny bunch of bed wetters on here tonight.
We just beat the spudz 4-1 in their own backyard ladies!!!!
Hahahaha, we won!!! :D Jack Wilshere is something…so is Gibbs. We already knew that though!! :D It was good to see Arshavin heavily involved tonight!! :D There is something about this squad that makes me think we can win something this year…anything would be nice and I mean anything. Winning would just be a building block towards more winning if that makes sense hahaha. You gotta start somewhere.
You Goons were lucky today, 4-1 doesn’t tell the real story, second half and extra time we bossed the game and missed three sitters. Clearly considering that was our reserves we will finish higher than you Goon scum in the league.
I thought another full loan season and Wilshere will be ready but his game understanding and defensive positioning is just awesome nevermind the offensive side that we already know.
Yeah, I have noticed that about his game as well. His defensive awarness is as good as anyone’s. He really is a complete central midfield player. Him and Ramsey together would be scary!!! :D
Haha, AW just said the same thing we both said about JW.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/34636/wenger-reaction
someone posted this on an arsenal forum tonight, a new dvd from the spurs department about our 4-1 victory. Funny shit :
http://uploadpic.org/view-pic.php?img=96525
Willshere was a masterclass tonight we hav a worldclass youth acadamey.ha ha spuds we wooped ya.c’mon you Gunners!!!!
See everyone?? That is how you should play away from home!!! :D That is what I have been saying all along!! :D We need to play more like that in the away fixtures in the premier league and the champions league!! :D We kept the ball and tried to take the game to the opposition. We didn’t just hoof it up the park and hope to retrieve it like we did against Liverpool and Sunderland!! This is how we need to play away from home all the time!! :D
happy victory 2nite!
1) arsenal pay his wages, so he should shut up and be wherever he’s told.
2) played good 1 season for 3.div brentford? HAH!
3) he’s 20 years old, beeing at the arsenal, so he should pay the club, colleagues and the manager more respect.
4) why does AW do this and that you don’t understand? well, he’s one of the best manager around – just ask real madrid, france, baynern m, barcelona etc! you’ll never understand him and that’s why you’re are discussing football at blogs while he’s running the arsenal and doing a great job ON LOW BUDGET!
JS how impressive was henri lansbury considering this was his first pre season game since the game against Sturm graz. He hasnt even played reserve team football. It was his first game for arsenal in a competivie match and i love his agression, passion look at the goal he went crazy.
He was running alot even in extra time this kid has got a fantastic engine.
He needs to play centrally though and you will see what a talent he is. He can spot a pass and control things
Not a chance at the moment, there are at least 5 players [Song, Diaby, Wilshere, Ramsey & Denilson] ahead of him in the 2 for a 4231 system.
@ Hiro Nakamura, with that funny DVD-picture:
There is a new version up of that picture now:
http://uploadpic.org/view-pic.php?img=96529
The creator has put the poor little spurs fan who cried in the DVD-cover now :D
Wenger made an interesting comparison. he mentioned that Lansbury is like Ray Parlour. Now I know he has a bit more skill than Parlour did, but Parlour could play centrally OR on the right like Lansbury just played. He has Walcott and Eboue as competition, but if Walcott shifts to the middle then that opens upi a space for Lansbury right?? I don’t see Lansbury playing in the middle unless he can somehow sneak ahead of Denilson which is perfectly plausible. I’m not knocking Denilson by the way. I’m just saying that out of Ramsey, Wilshere, Song and Diaby, Denilson is probably the weakest. I don’t know if Lansbury can play better than Denilson though. He would have to be given a few chances to proove himself in themiddle bfore any judgements can be made. any rational judgements anyways
Here’s hoping Wenger can sort this quickly. We can’t afford to lose a potentially outstanding future keeper. We haven’t had one in so long, and it has hurt us immensely over the last few years. Please kiss and make up.
Thats the thing i personally think lansbury is better than denilson.
You watch when he plays central midfield hes decisive with the ball hes not like rosicky nasri hogging the ball, showing nice touches he will go in for the kill. Wenger said he smells when to go in the box.
Yh he doesnt waste time passing the ball around for the sake of it he goes in for the kill like fabregas and ramsey
2nd half he nealry put vela in 3 times but spurs defended well.
But when hes playing centrally he can see a pass straightaway ala fabregas ala ramsey and he can defend as well. Hes very agressive, he looked pretty impressive though for his first game in a long time he will get better and better
What a fantastic performance by the Arsenal tonight. There passing and work rate has definitely improved this year and you can sense this team really wants a trophy this season. I also think Denilson will finally come good this year as in the last two games, he’s looked very composed and stronger on the ball.
And then there’s Jack… wow what a player. Our very own Xavi. I don’t remember even Fabregas being this good at 18. What’s he gunna be like when he’s 22.
Anyway, a fascinating post on Arsenals match against Braga last Wednesday by Tim Vickery here.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/timvickery/2010/09/emirates_experience_leaves_me.html#blq-search
I think alot of us take the way arsenal play for granted, so it’s good to get another perspective to really appreciate what Arsen wenger has done for this club.
Thanks Trevor! That”s great stuff!
I think Wenger was seeking to secure the services of Fulham’s Mark Schwartzer before allowing Szczesny the opportunity togo on loan. Guess what? Arsene tried to the last minute of the summer window and it didn’t pan out, so Szczesny stays.
What Szczesny needs to do now is stay focussed, train hard and sieze his opportunity when it comes, and it will come, and when it does be ready to force Arsene to make you the preferred choice, and keep it. Unfortunately players are impatient and demand immediate success, they have very little patience.
Lets hope he doesn’t do a Hleb and regret it for the rest of his life!!!
Lansbury was really good. A little disappointed not to see JET when he has been really good too and has worked his socks off in the reserves. But hopefully JET will get a chance to play in the league and FA cup. We can’t have such a strong eleven in every game and competition.
Surely Fabianski has to be moved down the pecking order (or allowed to leave) and Szczesny moved up to number two. It’s a hard decision and difficult for Fab but we need to do this sooner rather than later, IMO.
Great result last night and good to see Gibbs, Wilshere and Landsbury coming through.
COYG
This is the problem with kids now days. They all think they are superstars and know better than the coach what is best for them. What a baby. How many other 20 year old keepers do you see playing around Europe? I only know of 2. I hope Wenger doesn’t play him now. You can’t have kids thinking they are bigger than the club.
You didn’t read the whole interview. Wenger refused to let him go on loan with a blatant LIE, saying he’s needed at Arsenal when that’s clearly not the case. Szczesny has a right to be upset. There is no sense in keeping him at Arsenal if he’s not going to get a chance. I would not blame him if he chooses to run down his contract and leave in the summer. Wenger has badly mismanaged this.
once again….. there is obviously logic behind what Wenger does. Obviously the loan to the mighty Brentford just gave Schez a big head so maybe another loan would have done the same. Wenger should not even have to discuss his plan with this kid. Wenger should not need to make promises to any 20 year old. He needs to just shut up, train hard and be patient. If Wenger played him in this game verse Tottenham and he made a mistake, it would have been a huge backwards step for Schez. No one with any common sense would send the young kid out there verses their local rival and anyone that is a keeper (me), knows that would have been a horrible idea. This is why these kids need to shut up and stop pretending like they know everything. How many dumb players need to keep making the same mistakes before someone learns. You have a much greater shot of reaching your potential under Wenger than if you leave. Ask Bentley and Pennant or even Hleb and so many more.
No, there is no logic to Wenger’s work with keepers. Fabianski has only gone backwards thanks to his “brilliant” strategy. Wenger should have learned from that debacle and stopped trying to expect keepers to learn without regular games. There is no logic to keeping three young keepers at Arsenal. At least one of them should have gone on loan.
Ber…. have you ever thought that making mistakes and then getting booed which leads to lose of confidence is any help for a keeper? You can’t say either way is right or wrong. Certain players have went on loan for 4 or 5 years and than come back and failed. (Ben Foster at Man UTD) Others have done good after loans like Joe Hart. The whole point is, that it is the managers choice and a 20 year old no body should not be spouting off at the mouth about a legendary manager. Has anyone heard of something called RESPECT?
All this because of a few quotes from a Polish newspaper.
Anyway, everyone seems to be jumping on the same wagon here, apparantly it’s “cool” to think that Szczesny is the best keeper you’ve ever seen, and that every other keeper at the club suck. Szczesny has done _nothing_, and I can’t stress this enough, NOTHING to deserve a first-team spot (or even 2nd GK for that matter). All he’s got is one season under his belt at Brentford. Granted, he had an awesome loan spell, but there’s lightyears of difference between playing week in week out in Premier League, and playing at a 8000-capacity stadium in League One. I for one highly doubt that he would/could cope with the pressure at this young age.
Fair enough, De Gea is playing every game for Atletico Madrid, but they hardly consider themselves contenders for Primera Division, do they? They know they can develop players without having much to risk.
I mean, 87% of the people in here have never even watched Szczesny play except for _maybe_ a few pre-season games. You’ve all “heard” that he’s amazing. Well, we have four goalkeepers in this squad at the moment, with Almunia, Fabianski and Mannone ahead of Szczesny. Stop whining and get behind your manager. Can’t believe that anyone’s even thinking about pointing their dirty e-fingers at Wenger on this one.
“Poor managament from Wenger”
“Wenger has clearly lost it”
I smell psychical defects at play. Get a grip.
Last thing, when was the last time ANY of our players regardless of age publicly talked about stuff like this? He should really learn to watch his mouth or his carreer could be heading towards the shiny drain already.
Also, stop saying that Lansbury is better than Denilson. Please stop. Clueless heads.
Perhaps Chesney should first worry about ousting his fellow country men for the number #2 spot and then start spouting out these noises. Me personally I felt the boss is looking out for the best interest of the club and the player. If we had lost the game to our wannabe, and Chesney had made the same blunder (hypothetically speaking) that Fabianski has become associated with; it would be detrimental to his development and majority of our fans would brushes them with the same brushes especially being from the same country. alas the Lega Warsaw game.
There’s nothing unreasonable about Szczesny’s words. He’s upset because Wenger denied him a loan for no discernible reason. He can only learn by playing. Rotting in reserves won’t help him one bit. Szczesny was willing to go on loan, but instead Wenger lied to him that he was needed at Arsenal. There was no reason for Wenger to do that, given that it’s obvious he doesn’t really need him.
@ Hiro, with that funny DVD-picture:
There is a new version up of that picture now:
http://uploadpic.org/view-pic.php?img=96529
The creator has put the poor little spurs fan who cried in the DVD-cover now :D
I know it’s tough to see the bigger picture when you’re young and talented and want to play and know in your heart that you’re better than the guys in front of you who are getting playing time. But Szczeny is really “missing the boat” here.
First, Wenger wasn’t lying when he said that he needed Szczeny during the summer. If he had gotten Schwarzer, Almunia would have immediately left–meaning that the competition for # 2 would have actually been a competition for the # 1 job within a year or two at the most–with the # 2 gradually taking over as # 1 from Schwarzer. Like everyone else here, I believe Wenger expects/ed Szczeny to take the challenge and beat out Fabianski and Mannone. Szczeny has disappointed by not yet seeing, let alone seizing, the opportunity.
Second, Fabianski got the start at WHL for three reasons: 1.) as current # 2, he hasn’t played a minute yet and needs playing time, just in case he has to set in for Almunia; 2.) Wenger already stated that Fabianski had to be given a chance to redeem himself, but that there wouldn’t be an endless number of chances–this was his chance; 3.) not only was Wenger giving Fabianski a chance to redeem himself, but he was giving him a chance to get revenge for his poor showing at WHL on the same ground and against the same opponent–no athlete can ask for a better opportunity to show what he’s made of. In short, Wenger was giving Fabianski the best chance he could ask for to prove himself–one that he couldn’t ever complain about if he failed. While Wenger said, after the match, that he had to look at the goal Fabianski conceded on video and that it was good for Fabianski that Arsenal won, he clearly wasn’t happy about the goal–a goal that most say he should have stopped. Now there’s nothing to stop AW from demoting Fabianski and he has a better chance to sell him off than he would have had with his confidence still shattered after last season.
3.) Szczeny has to understant that just because you’re more talented and even better than the guys in front of you, the manager isn’t going to just hand you the job or listen to you if you complain about him not giving the job to you–you have to go out and win it every day in practice and, perhaps most importantly, AFTER practice! Many, many years ago, I was in the same position as Szczeny–same position, different sport. I was a teenager when I joined a team at the highest level of the sport. I was good and knew I was good, but there were two grown men with greater credentials than mine ahead of me on the depth chart. After a week of practice, I knew I was better than them, but I was the # 3 goalkeeper and not likely to get any playing time. Still, I kept my mouth shut, went to practice and tried to learn everything I could from the two older men, and I stayed after practice every day–at least for an hour–working on different things with any of the other players who wanted or were willing to stay after practice. Even though I was lucky to play 5-10 minutes at the end of practice, I faced thousands of shots and hundreds of passes after practice. The coaches noticed, but didn’t say anything. In the meantime, I sat on the bench–well, not exactly, because I didn’t even get to dress during the first half of the season. Finally, halfway through the season the coach told me I would be on the bench for an away game. In the second half, we were losing badly and the starting goalkeeper had made a couple of bad mistakes, so the coach put me in. I played well. That got me the chance to sit on the bench again for the next two games. I didn’t say anything. Halfway through the second of those games, I was subbed in again and played as well as I could. It was only then that the coach finally gave me a chance to start. I had to earn that chance. I didn’t start to earn it in any games, but in what I was willing to do when I wasn’t even getting any chances in practice.
Szczeny has to learn that, if he wants to play for Arsenal, he has to earn that opportunity. When Theo Walcott talked about his improvement this season and how he was working after practice, the keeper that he said was working with him and Sagna, etc. was Fabianski, not Szczeny. When I read that, I asked myself “Where’s Szczeny?” He’s got more talent than the guys in front of him, but he has to show Wenger and his teammates that he’s determined to work harder than the other three and beat them out. He has to show them that he will do whatever it takes to get better and be a winner. He has to understand that playing time is not going to be handed to him just because he’s more talented–he has to earn it. If he’s willing to do what it takes to earn it, he will earn the respect of his coaches and teammates–and he’ll need that if he wants to be a winner. He won’t become a starter or a real winner by whining about the lack of opportunities. What he needs to see is that just being with the first team IS an opportunity: an opportunity to show his manager, coaches and teammates what he is really made of.
I apologize for boring you all with my story, but I think it applies to this situation. It’s really too bad that Szczeny can’t see the bigger picture. But, he’s still a young guy and sometimes young guys with a lot of ambition do get impatient. I hope he realizes that Fabianski just handed him a golden opportunity and seizes it!
I concur that your story truly fit in with Szczeny situation. the keeper battles is not just for number one but also for the number two spot or the place on the bench and herein is where our savior Szczeny did truly missed the boat. true he feel he’s the better keeper, but the other three guys feel the same way, but you don’t hear them coming out and spouting these BS we are currently hearing from this guy. see, in your case you let your work ethic and commitment do the talking, and the coaches saw through this just as it apply with Fabianski.
Really happy about yesterday’s game but can’t help feel down about Gibbsy. How unlucky is this poor lad? If it’s another metatarsal, then that’s really messed up. He was easily the best performer out there last night, just edging Wilshere and Kos IMO. He terrorised those little Spuds for the entire time he was out there.
I was happy they brought Lennon on at HT to see how KG does against a good winger and he handled him with ease in the main. He lost him once (when Kos made a brilliant last-ditch challenge), but took the ball off him every time Lennon tried to take him on.
Basically, he dealt with Lennon far better than Clichy has ever dealt with him. He was also relentless with his runs forward and gave us another dimension going forward. He has much more quality than Clichy in the final third (decision-making AND quality of pass/cross), he’s better in the air (he won every aerial challenge he went up for last night, to my memory, but obviously i’m not jujging this on just last night’s game). Stronger, about as fast as Gael, better tackler, better weaker foot, better shooting ability/finisher/more of a goal threat, MUCH better composure, about the same concentration levels, about the same stamina and work-rate levels and seemingly, he’s improved his positioning and anticipation which makes him a better bet than Gael at LB. I’m not against Clichy, he’s a decent LB but Gibbsy seems like he’s taking his game to a whole new level and i’ve got my fingers crossed this latest set-back doesn’t keep him out for too long and he can come back and make that spot his THIS season.
One side note about Jack Wilshere……
I’ve watched him very closely for these opening few games and i’ve come to the conclusion that this kid has better positional sense than Diaby. Next time JW plays CM, you lot watch how quickly he gets behind the ball as soon as the attack breaks down. That’s how it’s done. Not slowly trotting back as we get counter-attacked. No wonder we look so much stronger defensively this season. Just like AW said last night in his interview, i too have been pleasantly surprised with how well he’s done thus far.
I think you are taking it to far mate. Over reaction can be expected though. Gibbs is not better than Clichy and Wilshere is a very different option to Diaby. The thing is that you need more than just 1 player at each position over a season so it doesn’t really matter. We need as many good players as we can get. By the way, I think people are giving Wilshere passes for giving the ball away as often as he did. You can’t do that at a center midfield position to often.
Can you imagine this center midfield rotation in next year. Fabregas, Song, Diaby, Wilshere and Ramsey…..lol. Ridiculously good.
TJ,
Yours is a voice I look for regularly on here, but I have to disagree with you on this whole replace Clichy with Gibbs point. Maybe I’m wrong because there already seems to be a mounting tidal wave of support for swtching two in their places in the team.
Personally, I feel Gibbs is still a season or two away from overtaking Clichy. I think a lot of this momentum is due to the fact that Gibss is much more liked than Clichy because Gibbs is English. I disagree that Gibbs is equal or superior to Clichy in every aspect of the game, as your comment seems to imply. He could be in a year or two but right now…? Don’t think so…
Also, I can’t completely agree with you about Wilshere either. Wilshere has been absolutely excellent this season. His poise, consistency, and work-rate have been mesmerising for one so young. I don’t understand how he’s been called ‘out of his depth’ and so forth for some of his performances. Aside from giving the goal away at Anfield, I think he’s been absolutely excellent thus far!
That said, I don’t think he has a better postional sense than Diaby. That’s a HUGE leap for me. Remember about a 5-6 weeks ago against the Polish side…Wilshere was caught horribly out of position which allowed the opposing midfielder a massive amount of space, which he used to waltz in and lay on a cracker for one of their goals. To assume that an 18 year old can go from that kind of positional naivete’ to being comfortably superior to a player who’s six years older and has 15-20 champion’s league starts undrer his belt in a matter of 5-6 weeks is for me, again, a bit hopeful and far-fetched.
I love the enthusisam that now seems to have taken hold regardign our young players becase a season or two ago the refrain was about how we had too many youngsters and we needed “experience, experience, experience…”. But it looks like these talented young English boys have changed that refrain a lot….hmmm….!
Anyway, I do think that we need to keep in mind that those in front of these excellent youngsters are 1. also still a couple of years shy of their prime football years themselves, and 2. are still far more experienced and may offer more to the team because of it.
“Remember about a 5-6 weeks ago against the Polish side…” I think it would be better if you just judged him on competitive games rather than pre-season friendlies, by your reasoning the verminator should have been rubbish last season given how shaky he was in his first pre season with us. Same with Kos
The usual comments about Fabianski again and I would agree another high profile error. However did anyone watch the Stoke v Fulham game where Swarzer hardly covered himself in glory, for the first goal he completely misjudges a cross and ends up in no mans land and for the second fails to collect a long throw, I just hope AW watched this and forgets about him permanently. True gooners would support all of our goalkeepers and stop whinging and thinking they know better, goalkeeping is all about confidence and constant undermining of them on Arsenal blogs does no one any favours.
I feel chesny is rated above Fabianski….. and that Chesny is going to get his chance in the FA Cup.
I’ve always thought Fabianski was a good shot stopper just prone to errors in judgement and concentration. But the Keane goal last night suggests his confidence has hit rock bottom and is affecting all areas of his game.
I think Wenger kept him this season as he does not want to throw Chesney or Mannone in against big teams if Almunia is out. It could be over-awing for either of them to come straight onto the big stage at such a young age (I think one of them would have played if it wasn’t at White Hart Lane).
Now however, Fabianski looks nervous every time he’s on the pitch. Our fans don’t get behind him and opposition fans will target him as a weak link. This will only worsen his confidence. I doubt he’d be any more mentally prepared than the younger two for the big games.
I think he needs to go out on loan. Perhaps to La Liga where it isn’t as physical and the fans won’t target him so much. If he can go there and play 30 games and hopefully get his confidence up he could become a good squad member. Then perhaps install Ches as the 2nd choice keeper.
Excellent points!
I think things might have been different if Wenger had been able to get Schwarzer. Almunia would have left, but I think Wenger wanted Schwarzer because he feels he can be a mentor to Szczeny, Mannone and Shea (maybe even Fabianski) in a way that Almunia can’t and would have felt better with Szczeny at # 2 behind Schwarzer.
I also think that Wenger sees that Fabianski has the talent you describe and noted the work he was putting in and wanted to give him another chance. I think he felt WHL might be too much for Szczeny or Mannone, but that it would be the perfect place for Fabianski to show that he had recovered mentally.
While I don’t think his confidence is as badly shattered as it was last year, I agree with you that Fabianski needs to go out on loan or be sold. I think the criticism (which is deserved) has gotten to the point where the pressure on him is simply too great for him to handle. Every time he goes on the pitch now he has to be thinking “Just don’t make a mistake”, knowing that if he does, the criticism will reach a fever pitch. But, when an athlete, especially a goalkeeper, thinks that way, that’s when he’s going to make mistakes.
Fabianski needs to get away from Arsenal, London and IMHO England all together–away from the criticism–to a place where he’ll be able to just play largely unnoticed and not be subjected to a lot of criticism or pressure, so he can start to rebuild his confidence. Maybe if he does this, he will be able to “get into a groove” and restore his confidence enough to come back to Arsenal again.
However, given the amount of pressure that every Arsenal player is under every time he steps on the pitch, I wonder if Fabianski will ever be able to restore his confidence enough to be able to come back and deal with that pressure. While, as Wenger has said, Fabianski has the talent to become a top-flight keeper, if he does develop into one, I suspect that it will have to be somewhere else. I just think it will be so difficult for him to come out and play for Arsenal again, even if he regains his confidence in himself and his game: he will face a lot of criticism and have to turn the fans around and be under enormous pressure to do that immediately. That’s just not easy to do. Elsewhere they would just let him come in and play–there would be far less pressure and other stuff to deal with.
La Liga, Germany, anywhere but England where his reputation would follow him.
please szczesney be patient, you are arsenal best keeper much better then almunia and flapianski. you chance will come like bentdler, keep it up. almunia will make mistakes like always when he wil lbe involved big games and flapianski is a complete disaster only wenger doesnt know it even yesterday the goal should never had entered and the two time spurs hit the post he should have got out!! u must be ready so when your first game come you will be great. wenger will be sacked when arsenal does not take any trophy this year and lets hope who will come coach will play you, gibbs, wilshire and lansdury from the first minute. keep it up. WENGER OUT
i say ket him start any 1s better than crapianski
then buy given in jan
Wilshere is diffferent to Diaby. I agree with stefan though. He has shown that he can man his position defensively. He has proven this to me over the last few matches. Shane, he only gave the ball away once or twice with passes. Sometimes he holds on to the ball for too long and gets caught in posession, but he’ll learn. I just hpoe we can keep him healthy for the whole season, because if Cesc is injured, Jack is the guy to take up the reigns and run the midfield. At least for me he is. until Ramsey comes back, I trust Jack to more than hold his own and show us all that he can play against anyone, anywhere, at any time. You can probably see where I’m headed with this, but yes, I do want him to have the chance to play against Chelsea. He probably won’t start, but the experience would be invaluable to him and i trust that he can mix it up and put in the effort to make sure that our midfield isn’t over -run by Chelsea’s. By the way Chelski just got knocked out of the league cup!! :D Josh Maceachern looks like a top prospect, but he has for the last year or so. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod for England between him and Jack. He’s a year behind Jack, and defensively he isn’t as good, but offensively he is very talented.
Milo…you said exactly what I said. Jack actually lost the ball in the last couple games more than you would think which you simply can not do in the midfield. I agree he will improve on this over time. I am just saying that right now he makes those mistakes.
He hasn’t lost it THAT many times…I don’t remember. Smoething like an average of 2 or 3 times per match…ok that isn’t great, but i’m sure he’s gonna learn!! :D I think he will. PLUS, the kid always wants the damn ball!!!! :D I’ve really noticed that!! He always makes himself available to receive or give a pass. I’d rather see him lose it trying to play football than see him aimlessly hoof the ball up the pitch. He’ll learn when to play it safely. He’ll learn that you cannot always go forward with a pass or dribble out of trouble. I don’t want to see him kicking the shit out of the ball everytime he recieves it hahaha :D I know that isn’t what you mean though. I love his composure and I’m sure he’ll find a balance. I really would like to see how he handles playing against a top side now. I don’t really count Liverpool as a top side, and i feel he has progressed from that match anyhow. I really would like to see him get like 20-30 minutes against ManU or Chelski. I mean of course I wanna win the match first, but it would be interesting to see how he handled the situation.
Wellington Silva seems to have let the ‘fame’ and ‘stardom’ go to his head now. And it is even worse for Neymar. I don’t understand it – they should mature. I am only a little bit younger and I can assure you I would not let that happen to me so why have they let that happen? Santos have sacked their coach (who has been incredible for them this year, with the results, nurturing of talent, and signings for the team) because Neymar had a tantrum, so he suspended him for 2 matches (rightly so). I would like the Santos coach to come over a manage a PL team, he is a bit like the Brazilian Wenger.
http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/dirty-tackle/post/More-links-And-Neymar-having-a-temper-tantrum-o?urn=sow-270334
Thats the link for his tantrum.
Wellington awarded himself a holiday as Fluminense had a striker crisis and desperately needed him. My goodness he needs his attitude sorted out as well.
Oh my head……wtf JS?
I just wrote a long piece (as usual) in reply to what Shane and KC said, and it’s just disappeared.
Wellington Silva seems to have let the ‘fame’ and ‘stardom’ go to his head now. And it is even worse for Neymar. I don’t understand it – they should mature. I am only a little bit younger and I can assure you I would not let that happen to me so why have they let that happen? Santos have sacked their coach (who has been incredible for them this year, with the results, nurturing of talent, and signings for the team) because Neymar had a tantrum, so he suspended him for 2 matches (rightly so). I would like the Santos coach to come over a manage a PL team, he is a bit like the Brazilian Wenger.
http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/dirty-tackle/post/More-links-And-Neymar-having-a-temper-tantrum-o?urn=sow-270334
Thats the link for his tantrum.
Wellington awarded himself a holiday as Fluminense had a striker crisis and desperately needed him. My goodness he needs his attitude sorted out as well.
If misqouted – fair enough.
If accurate – don’t even start him for the reserves. He may well be better than Flappyhandski and Monone, but you can’t hold a club like Arsenal to ransom as a 20 year old. Tough love.
whoaaa new website design, well done Jay
who cares if you dont want to be at the arsenal jog on no time for litte cry babys
given will be coming in jan but well propaly be out of everyting by then roll on next season
I love the way he defend the Goalpost Indian fashion blog Szczęsny is one of the Finest Goalkeeper
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