Wojciech Szczęsny, A Renaissance man

Wojciech Tomasz Szczęsny, rated by many as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League this season (form-wise), has been speaking candidly lately, with a measured, & unusually humble posturing, not usually associated with the talented 23 year-old Pole.

Szczęsny passed the 100 appearance mark towards the end of last season, underlining his status as a permanent fixture in the Arsenal side. This season, he's added amuch more focussed approach to his already affirmative nature. This new found maturity, coupled with an understanding with his defence, has been a fundamental part of the puzzle that has seen Wenger's team mount what looks like, for the first time in what seems like too long, a bonafide 'title challenge'.

Szczęsny believes Arsenal's defensive solidity is the biggest cause for optimism and it's hard to disagree with that opinion. Almost all keepers have the propensity for a 'mad moment' and the old adage that 'all keepers are mad' is often laced with truth. Szczęsny arguably had one too many irrational moments keeping goal and whilst never being a complete liability, you always felt there was always room for improvement, just as there was always a potential clanger waiting to be dropped by the Polish number 1!

An air of calm seems to be surrounding the lad and you may well assume that with time, he's maturing, this certainly appears to be the case with his display between the sticks. The Twitter outbursts, openly mocking opponents have been ditched in place of insightful interviews with the Sports media. The exposes of his 'love rat' ways have been benched, replaced by photo's of the Pole taking harmonious walks in the Hertfordshire countryside with his new girlfriend, who the player admits has been 'a calming influence' who has opened the players mind both on his 'outlook on life' & his 'spiritual development'.

There's a saying that a top goalkeeper will win you at least 12 points a season. It seems a very long time since Arsenal could even hint that the guy between the sticks was such a player, but in the new & improved Szczęsny, they may well have found such a man.

Arsenal fans won't tire of negotiating the tricky spelling of Szczęsny's name, certainly if the players name continues to be synonymous with confident displays and clean-sheets!

Author:
Joel Coote - @MoistFootball

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