His rise to the Arsenal first-team has been meteoric enough, but goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny is not stopping there. The 21-year-old, who admits he’s already starting to become a leader at the club, is targeting the captaincy.
Szczęsny’s starring performances have been a rare highlight in an otherwise frustrating start to the season, but it wasn’t all plaudits when he first arrived in England. Adapting to a new country, new language, new club and new ways of doing things was daunting enough, but he told the Polish media this week he doesn’t regret a thing.
“It’s the best decision I could make. This is where I really grew up. I am here since I was practically a kid. If I didn’t come here as a teenager, I wouldn’t be able to play at such a high level.”
He goes on to say Arsenal is now his ‘second home,’ before adding some credence to the mischievous rumour this week that Barcelona might be interested, by adding:
“I can’t declare that I will spend my entire career here, but if I leave I will have a very important reason or I will go to Barcelona.”
However true speculation of a move away might be, Szczęsny’s focus is clearly on Arsenal. His role as a key communicator at the back has blossomed, to the point now where the former Brentford loanee feels like a leader.
“I feel that when I say something, everyone listens to me. More so on the field than in the dressing room, but that’s more important I think. In the national team as well as at the club, teammates respect me. I’m not saying I’m the only leader, but I feel I am one of them.”
The level-headed and very likeable youngster is as ambitious as he talented, and while Robin van Persie might be captain at present, Szczęsny has his eyes on leading the team who gave him his big break.
“I want to be the captain of the team. I feel that I am able to take on that responsibility. I always wanted to be captain and if I ever get that honour, I will gladly put on the armband.”
The Poland international is currently nursing a back injury, and while Arsenal fans sweat over the fitness of Thomas Vermaelen, Jack Wilshere and the newly stricken Bacary Sagna, they know the fitness of the inspired Szczęsny is most crucial, with a long season of battles ahead.
Translations via Bartosz Ciurski
he loves the club
Pretty sure he was taking the piss and if he wasn’t I couldn’t care frankly. It’s not like nearly every other footballer out there would love to play for them one day. Hate them, but it’s the truth.
Szczesny’s still a proper fan of the club and I appreciate having him in the team.
“I can’t declare that I will spend my entire career here, but if I leave I will have a very important reason or I will go to Barcelona.”
That statement gave the media the opportunties to dig into the rumours in full force and already Metro focus to reported this…. http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/877541-wojciech-szczesny-admits-hed-consider-leaving-arsenal-for-barcelona
If the ownwer, board and manager don’t set up high standard to challenge for all honours so I am pretty sure we can enjoy his presence for now and when Barcefuka came around the corner to screw anything can happen. Hey it was pretty clear the youth(especially the foreign) used the academy to spring board the career. Fuck
@Arsenal
That’s Jamie’s metro article.
Knowing Chez from past interviews, I’d assume he said it firmly tongue in cheek. Legend in the making.
arsenal should start winning trophies before he decides to move away.i hate barcelona.
True gunner. Give him the captaincy maybe that will help. We have lack of defence but if He(szczesny) controls the game maybe that will give us solid defence.
Fucks sake, just kill me now and spare me the torment of watching the players I love the most sucking up to that popularized corrupt media love-child club with political agendas.
Once again fucking Barcelona is turning one of our most loved player’s head. “I want to be Arsenal’s number one for 10 or 20 years!” is replaced with “I can’t declare that I will spend my entire career here, but if I leave I will have a very important reason or I will go to Barcelona.”
Makes me sick to my stomach that everyone can’t see them for what they are.
You don’t seem to understand that he’s only making a joke, don’t be such a pessimist mate
Farcelona can fuck right off, Chezza has Arsenal and North London DNA…Catalan Inbreds!
Oh I just love his attitude!
Really, really wish martinez is going to be better, which doesnt require that much. All he has to do is to be able to deal with crosses. Hope he goes to barca, if they pay up big time. schoolboy.
Considering his age I wouldn’t swap him for any keeper in the world. Seriously.
I actually thought when I read it, the Barca comment was a little joke – seeing as he’s known all the kerfuffle with them in recent years I can imagine him not being able to resist a little joke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9CnlWYkgLc
Legend
Well it would not be suprising if the armband did pass to Chesney once RvP hangs up his boots or leaves the club.
He will be a magnificent captain though :)
He has that extra charisma that all great captains have.
The truth is if the best team in the world (no matter who it is at the time) comes in for one of your players especially when you don’t pay more wages and aren’t winning titles, then they are probably going to want the move. It is the clubs job to tell that club to fuck off or pay up but never get bullied like we did with Fabregas. Hell lets see…. Tottenham keep Modric and we sell Fabregas. Which move turned out better? No, I do not expect very many of our big stars to stay forever under the current circumstances. That is just the truth.
Hell, Szczesny might get his wish next year because I can’t see RVP and Vermaelen signing a new deal and I don’t blame them. Personally I would love Szczesny as captain. He is the only one I really ever see showing real passion on our team.
Even his name can play football his stature speaks well of him i hope he stays here……great future ahead
When RvP & TV5 leaves make jack captain & wojciech his assistant d we lead our current crop of young players in AOC ryo le coq frimmy rambo henri kyle iggy gibbs carl ozy campbell benik chuks martinez
The young pole deserves the captain, once rvp leaves arsenal in two years time the young szcznesny will take over the captain armbard even though vermalean deserves the captain i think szcznesny is the best candidate to take over the captain once rvp leaves the club.But arsenal will need to fight to keep him with other key players but unless arsenal start wining trophies this season then he will stay for a very long time with the club.
First he says he’d go to Barca, then he says he wants the armband?
If he get Dennis Dein as his new agent, he’s practically a goner.
Barca + Captaincy + Dennis Dein = Gone.
“or I will go to Barcelona.”
did he really say that? i mean..he’ll just leave for barca for no reason suddenly?
My instinct says Wenger will cash in on RVP once he demand to invest heavily on major talents (not that I wanted to see another world class talents going out).
Come on lets face reality here! AFC are going for self substaining model and the commercial revenue is the one of the main reason why we cannot compete with the top dogs(2014 can then we renew the deals. Do you expect Wenger get his check book to sign quality players like Goertz,Fann M’Vila (looks more unlikely with Coquelin potential shown lately), Martin Marvin (I like this lad as our squad players like Rosicky and possibly Arshavin is on a downward projectile), Eden Hazard (we all knew his talents but his club are selling to the highest bidder when business is call).
The most we can hope for 1-2 top class talents sign and then at the same time some current talents left us for good again. It is the same circle repeated a few season, so we defintedly cannot gel or get an identity from the team. Frustrating time for Arsenal fans (love it or hate it….I support them in good or bad time though but we can expect irregular performance if the players and the staffs don’t instill the chararcters into this team. The players need to belief their abilities and fight for every cause.
Self Sustain model was what I thought we were on. Sell smart and buy smart and build a team over time. Then this summer happened and honestly the fans got conned. Wenger says, “we have money to spend” before we even sold 2 of our world class players. So I am thinking, well this has to be a time where he spends some cash. I mean we brought in 60 million from 2 players. I gave it the summer to see how it turned out and as soon as I saw our signings, I lost faith. It honestly was a scam. Only the blind supporters would have truly thought that those signings were a good step.
Hell even look at Atletico Madrid. Now we are better then them at a whole lot of things but at least you can say they are not going to do the fans like Arsenal have done us this year. I mean they sell Torres but they use that money and bring in Aguero and Forlan. Those 2 go and they bring in Falcao. At least their fans can say they are trying. Our transfer business said, we are either delusional or you just don’t give a crap.
When there is a smoke, there is a fire. There were thousand of Club out there, and he choose to go to Barcelona? Another glory hunter in making? He’s such a bad omen to the Club at the moment. If he want to leave to Barca, he can f*ck off and leave. We don’t need another Cesc saga to be honest. I’m sick of it.
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he’s never said all these things, thats the evil media winding up arsenal fans again.
if farcelona wants an arsenal keeper we surely have one with spanish dna and they can have him for free anytime.
Hahahaha, I thought what he said was meant to be a joke too…I don’t really think he said those things word for word!!! Szczesny is a great keeper and I’d be really sad to lose him!!! He’s a joker at heart, and I can sympathize with that. Even if he wasn’t joking, like a few people have said, if he wants to go to Barcelona, as much as I hate them, who’s to stop him???
Szczesny’s tweets, source from Arsenal.com :
“I got annoyed with a few things about myself in the media recently so I’m gonna set the record straight,” he began.
“I never said I deserve the Arsenal armband. I said that I would love to one day take the responsibility of being an Arsenal skipper. RVP [Robin van Persie] is doing a great job as a skipper and he fully deserves the armband.”
Szczesny added: “I am injured and had to be pulled out of Polish national team. I hope to recover as soon as possible.”
And he mocked the speculation linking him with a move away from Arsenal: “Please continue the ‘Szczesny to Barcelona’ rumours. Makes me laugh every time I read it!”
Future
Szczesny
Jenkinson Bartley Miguel Gibbs
Ramsey Frimpong/Coquelin Wilshere
Chamberlain Campbell/Afobe Ryo/Wellington
Lansbury, Chuks, Martinez