Ready Or Not: Wojciech Szczesny
251 guns July 27th, 2010
Hello and welcome to the latest offering in the Ready Or Not series, which has so far looked at Jay Emmanuel Thomas, Jack Wilshere, Henri Lansbury, and Jay Simpson. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so it seems this feature is going OK.
Today we look at Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Sczczesny - probably the most exciting talent at the club whose name I still can’t spell. There’s been hype around him before - his loan spell at Brentford last season attracted plenty of attention - and the BBC produced this helpful little clip to familiarise the uninitiated with his acrobatic antics:
Not satisfied with that, I spoke to a load of Brentford fans from the Griffin Park Grapevine. Here we go:
How big an impact did Wojciech Szczesny make at Brentford?
Huge, he must have earnt us at least 10 points last season.
Massive. In my opinion, the best keeper i have seen play for Brentford FC since i’ve been going, 1973, so you can see he has made a huge impact.
Massive, one of the best keepers I’ve seen here, although the impact was probably exaggerated by the fact he replaced a donkey in goal.
As everyone says he had a massive impact on the team,and the thing that struck me was that he didn’t mind going to elbow merchants like MK Dons and Wycombe on cold December nights…in fact he seemed to relish the prospect.
Huge. He helped solidify a defence that was a bit wobbly to say the least. I think he was worth at least 9 points to us, possibly more.
What was his best moment at Brentford?
Very difficult to pick one there were so many.
You cannot single out one but the numerous saves he has made. When mere mortals wouldn’t have!
Too many to mention but the one that springs to mind is the acrobatic save he made at Norwich from a header, reflexes were incredible.
I can’t remember the opposition,but it was a home game not long after he joined us.Someone sent a fierce but wayward shot accross the box that deflected off a defender and was heading straight for the bottom corner at pace.Looked a certain goal…but not with Woj around!He somehow managed to throw himself across goal and claw the ball out…and keep hold of it so the onrushing forward didn’t have a sniff.When asked about it afterwards he said he had been “lucky”…refreshing attitude.
There’s a lot but I think Norwich (A) for me where he made two or three astonishing saves, which can be seen on that YouTube video.
What are his main strengths and weaknesses as a player?
Commands his his box very well and is a superb shot stopper. Doesn’t really have any weaknesses that I saw.
He’s quick on the ground, closing down the attacker, he has superb reflexes and i’d take Wojciech on a one on one every time against a forward!
Great reflexes, very commanding of his area. Weaknesses were his distribution.
Can be a bit hot-headed at times.Will have to watch his lip with Ref’s like Steve Bennett about.
Strengths: Reflexes; Command of the area and when one-on-one with a striker you always felt he could make the block. Weaknesses: He had one bad game for us, against MK Dons (H), where he mis-read a couple of high balls. I think his kicking probably needs work, although as one of my fellow GPGers noted it is unlikely he’s going to need to hoof the ball 50-60 yards to the ‘big fella up front’ when playing for Arsenal. In truth lack of experience is probably the main weakness.
What is his best position?
Err, scrap that.
Which top flight players does he remind you of?
Peter Schmeichel.
None, he is himself, a great prospect for a club like Arsenal.
Fabianski (Ed: I hope he’s joking)
Reminds me a bit of Seaman actually…before he turned into a liability.
Petr Cech.
Do you think he could be an Arsenal player?
Yes - I think he is better than the 3 clowns you already have.
He should be your No.1.
Only if he gets some more league one experience 
. In all seriousness I think he definitely will, goalkeepers are at a premium at the moment, especially at Arsenal.
He will be an Arsenal player I’m sure but don’t throw him in too early,let him get some experience elsewhere…but if it’s not at Brentford then please don’t loan him to anybody else in this league!
Yes. He probably needs a bit more experience though. Much as I’d love him to come back here for another season I think it might be better for his development if he were loaned either to a Championship team with a bit of a reputation for passing football or to Premiership ’struggler’ like Blackpool. (Although being Blackpool’s keeper this season might be confidence shattering).
—
Thanks to BeeHomeSoon, WandererPaul, Westlad, Lostbee and Lokster for providing those answers.
Suffice to say, he sounds a bit awesome. But it’s a big step up from League One to Champions League, and Wojciech is still only twenty. When you answer the following poll, try to put out of your mind the fact that he looks almost certain to have a crack at the number one shirt eventually, and ask yourself this: is he ready now?
The answer could go some way to determining Arsene’s transfer policy this summer.
19 Comments Add your own
1. Daryl Booth | July 27th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Ye gods! Anyone rather than Almunia & Flappy
2. Prashant | July 27th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I had seen Fabianski performing acrobatic saves in a carling cup match that defied imagination. It was a strong opposition too ( cant remember who) and I went away thinking that he is the answer to our goalkeeping problems.
Since then he has earned the moniker of Flappianski and looked like a shattered man last season. Mistakes are very expensive at the highest level and can be extremely detrimental to progress.
Therefore, much though I laud the efforts of WS, I think he needs to grow without the pressures of being in front of Drogba or Rooney. Not ready !!
3. fredster | July 27th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
The question is impossible to answer, really, because it depends on who you compare him to.
If we had Cech in goal: No, he’s not ready.
If we had Almunia in goal: Yes, he’s ready.
In other words, if Arsene doesn’t buy an experienced goalie, then I’m all for giving Wojciech a crack, but he does not necessarily meet the standards for a club like Arsenal. So, he is both ready and he isn’t.
4. James - South Yorkshire | July 27th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
He’s got to be a better bet than the other two.
5. RealSocialDad | July 27th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
have to some what agree with fredster
but also think if we actually backed the keepers ie play him even if they fuck up might gain some confidence probably not helped by gallas trying to turn them to stone.
i asked some bee’s fans last season in march time and they said ches need another season or so did a full profile sorry to plug the blog. on ches http://realsocialdad.blogspot.com/2010/03/one-and-only.html
6. T-Rex | July 27th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
hey not cool man. You stole this series in expense of the brilliancy of sport.co.uk
Son, I’m disappointed.
7. DC | July 27th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
The idea may or may not have been stolen, but the brilliancy of sport.co.uk! Do me a favour.
8. T-Rex | July 27th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
lol calm down. Just taking the pun out of sport.co.uk.
happy blogs day btw to Mr.Gunnerblog
9. Goonerbeall | July 27th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Goodness gracious me, cant someone tell Wenger to either buy a proper GK or at least bring in Wojsiek Cszcny. We are desperate and cant go through another season with clown like last year.
10. Scott | July 27th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Wojciech Szczesny should be Arsenal’s number 2. An experienced keeper needs to be be bought for the Number 1 spot, and both Fabianksi and Almunia for the chop.
Won’t happen obviously. *sigh*
11. Wale | July 27th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
@Daryl Booth d save was against wigan(Zaki produced d shots)
12. Kilo G | July 27th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
He needs another season on loan preferably to a premiership team similar to Hart and Foster. He’ll make mistakes as all so let him get as many of them out of his system else where ..
I also think Fab requires a little time on loan to build his confidence. He’s made high profile mistakes, so like Sperms and Gomez we could let him get them out of his system and I’m sure a top class keeper will emerge, but for a team in our position we can’t afford him to make them here so he should go on loan and make them somewhere else so he can return and become the keeper I think he’s capable of becoming.
13. Tommo | July 27th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
I honestly think we should throw him straight in the deep end. He looks like the kind of guy that relishes a challenge and he won’t get over awed by the whole thing. ( having said that I’m sure I was saying the same thin about fabianski…. Oops)
14. Antonio | July 27th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
I’m not sure why you wouldn’t give Woj a chance. Apparently he commands his box well, something neither Almunia, nor Fabianski do anywhere near what I’d call “well”. That’s what we really need back there right now: a commanding voice.
I’m not convinced by the “he needs experience” argument. When did Casillas start on goal for Real? 16? 17? some absurd age like that. De Gea, Atletico’s current GK, who played in the Europa League final… 20. So no, I don’t think it’s impossible for a 20 year old to be a top flight GK. Even if he’s a bit shaky, he’d be better than both Almunia or his countryman Fabianski. They can be fabulous shotstoppers but their command of the box really is not there.
15. hnic | July 27th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
What happened to if you’ve got what’s needed your ready???
Fabianski hasn’t had a season in the ruff and tumble of the english lower divisions!! I believe szczesny is in a better position than fabianski!! He seems like he’s not afraid to talk and he will organise the defense better than fabianski!! He’s 6foot4!!! Amazing reflexes!!
HES READY!!!!! He’s a definite future world class keeper!! If we show faith now!! He’ll love us forever!!
16. Erichero | July 27th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
My concern is: how much patience will the fans give him if he makes a mistake or two? Will he be given a reasonable amount of time to bed in?
17. nre | July 27th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
For those insisting on making him number 2, how did work out for Fabianski? Szczesny can be a great keeper, don’t waste his potential by making him rot on the bench. He said it himself that he needs regular games above all.
18. Ready Or Not: Wojciech Sz&hellip | July 28th, 2010 at 12:49 am
[...] Ready Or Not: Wojciech Szczesny 2010 July 28 tags: Ready, Szczesny, Wojciech by rich Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.Powered by WP Greet Box WordPress PluginHello and welcome to the latest offering in the Ready Or Not series, which has so far looked at Jay Emmanuel Thomas, Jack Wilshere, Henri Lansbury, and Jay Simpson. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so it seems this feature is going OK. Today we look at Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Sczczesny – [...] Gunnerblog [...]
19. Vikram | July 28th, 2010 at 8:55 am
I am not exactly sure but didn’t Iker Casillas also make his debut for Real Madrid at 19? I think AW should atleast have a look at him and the Emiartes Cup
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