Szczesny would prove to be Arsenal's number one -
even if it didn't always look that way.
Szczesny produced an impressive display at
Wembley on Tuesday night when he stood in for the
injured Artur Boruc, despite being beaten twice as
England secured a 2-0 victory which clinched their
place at the 2014 World Cup.
The 23-year-old has never been short on confidence,
but went through a difficult spell last season which
saw him dropped for the Champions League tie at
Bayern Munich and benched in favour of compatriot
Lukasz Fabianski before eventually being recalled
over the run-in.
It was a move which incurred the wrath of Szczesny's
father Maciej, himself a former Poland international
goalkeeper, who claimed his son was being made a
'scapegoat' for the team's shortcomings - and
subsequently resulted in a public apology from the
Arsenal player to Wenger and the club.
Wenger, though, maintains he never lost sight of
Szczesny's long-term position, having seen the
goalkeeper progress after joining the club's academy
from hometown side Legia Warsaw in 2006 and a
loan spell at Brentford.
"I was always convinced that Szczesny was make it,"
the Arsenal manager said.
"I didn't see the game on Tuesday because I watched
the French game. I just saw (updates on my phone)
every two minutes that Szczesny had made another
save, so he was very good.
"People forget that at 23, it is like being 18 for an
outfield player. At 23, Szczesny had played two
Premier League seasons, one where we finished third
and last year where we made 73 points and finished
fourth. You would think he can only go up."
Szczesny's appearance at Wembley was only his
second for Poland since being sent off in the opening
match of Euro 2012, when he then lost his place to
Przemyslaw Tyton.
Wenger, though, feels the way the goalkeeper has
recovered his form for both club and country is
confirmation of his character, which was tested soon
after his arrival at Arsenal following five months out
after fracturing both his forearms when lifting
weights.
"I think he questioned himself, especially after the
European Championships in Poland where it was a
massive disappointment for him and I think it
affected his belief. He matured through
disappointments like we all do," Wenger added.
"I believe every big player has to go through that in
his career, and what may decide his career is how he
comes out of that.
"For me, he came out of it in the way I wanted, it took
him a while, but he came back stronger.
"I took him out of the team last year and when he
came back in the team since he has been
consistent."
Wenger has no problems with Szczesny's "extrovert"
personality, so long as that is translated through to
strong performances between the posts.
"He was a bit kamikaze when he played at youth
level, but he also made impressive saves," the
French coach said.
"When you are young, you always think that life is
easier than it really is. You discover by maturing that
this level demands a daily attitude which is top level.
"Szczesny is an extrovert, who likes to be funny and
all that. He is as well a happy boy, which is good.
"Sometimes these types of people will get the
reputation of not being serious, but I think he is
extremely serious in the way he approaches his job."
Wenger continued: "Self belief is always very
important because self belief is linked to self esteem
and in our job your self esteem has to be very
resistant because football has strong emotions.
"For goalkeeper it is even more important because
when you make a mistake you have the whole
country on your back, so you have to be very strong
on that front."
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.
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