Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Wojciech Szczesny has the potential to become a vital part of the history of the north London club.
The Poland international endured a tough time last season and found himself dropped by Wenger for the first time since establishing himself as the club’s No.1.
The 23 year old has been in impressive form since returning to the side and Wenger has claimed that the shot stopper has the ability and experience to go down in Emirates history.
Speaking to the Arsenal official website, he said:
Yes, he can be one of the best. You have to question a little bit the defenders as well [when you consider clean sheet stats] because you’re part of a team and sometimes too many individual stats can lead you to conclusions that are not as obvious as that.
But what I am sure is that he has the potential to be a historical goalkeeper for Arsenal Football Club. That will depend on how much he will continue to focus, to have the desire to be better, to have the desire to put the hard work in.
If you look around at different clubs you see how quickly a goalkeeper can lose confidence, how quickly a goalkeeper can lose all his qualities. The level of urgency in this position has to be absolutely 100 per cent.
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He is a very young man. I personally believe his composure is better, his reading of the game is better, his level of concentration is much stronger and that comes out with his numbers. He is still a very young goalkeeper because he’s at an age where other goalkeepers start to play.
He has already a vast experience. That’s why I think it’s very good news for the Club that he has extended his contract. But rightly so as well because this Club has given him a huge chance at a very young age – and that is not common at in the top, top clubs.
I would like to give credit to our education system as well because he has been educated here, he has been given a chance here so that is quite faithful to the values that we have at our club. You speak of Wilshere, you speak of Ramsey and I think they are together exactly the same.
Szczesny has been excellent so far this season. He is commanding his area better than any time in his career, is showing greater confidence in his kicking and he has made several crucial saves this season.
This season, he has already been worked as much as he was last season and he’s already made as many saves in the first 12 games this season (40) as he did in the 25 matches last season (42) and has let in only 10 goals, whereas in 2012-2013 he let in 24 at the same stage. The above stats reveals how well he has performed this season and shows how vital his contribution has been for Arsenal’s strong start to the campaign.
His form this season has been a testament to the faith and patience Wenger has placed in him over the last few years. There were moments when that patience might have wavered a bit but when great players are dropped they come back stronger and hungrier then ever – that’s exactly what he has done this season. If he continues his strong form he has the ability to have his name alongside some of the other Gunners legends in the future. He has at least another 10+ years at the top level.
Do you think Szczesny can become an Arsenal great? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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