53. Wojciech Szczesny

Wojciech says he is ready for the Arsenal first team – and you wouldn’t bet against him achieving his goal sooner rather than later.

The young Pole spent almost six months on the sidelines after breaking both arms in an unfortunate training ground incident in October 2008. Now Wojciech is back in action and back to his best.

Arsène Wenger is clearly a fan. He named the keeper on the bench for the final game of last term against Stoke, took him to the pre-season training camp in Austria and handed him a squad number for the 2009/10 campaign.

Wojciech responded with a string of fine displays in pre-season, featuring in three wins and keeping a clean sheet over his 135 minutes on the pitch.

Now the 19-year-old has designs on the Arsenal No 1 shirt and is hoping for a chance in the Carling Cup this year.
 
Wojciech signed professional terms at Emirates Stadium in the summer of 2007 and he had a very early taste of top-flight football when he appeared for his former club, Legia Warsaw when he was just 15.

Authoritative, quick off his line and blessed with fine reflexes, the Pole has every chance of emulating his father, Maciej, who kept goal for his country.

 

MY YEAR

January

Wojciech's impressive loan spell at Brentford continued, earning him the praise of Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. "I really believe in him that he will one day be Arsenal's No 1," said the Frenchman. "He has all the qualities you want from a goalkeeper. That means a good basic confidence level, he is very brave, fantastic size, very agile and his speed in his reflexes is absolutely unbelievable." Wojciech extended his loan with Andy Scott's side until the end of the season.

December

Wojciech continued his good form with Brentford and extended his loan spell with the League One side for another month. "I'm really enjoying it here," he told Arsenal.com. "In the lower leagues there are 22 players coming out for a battle every week and you have to come out and fight and compete for every single ball and stay focused for 90 minutes.”

November

Wojciech made his full international debut in November, coming on as a second-half substitute in Poland's 1-0 friendly win over Canada. He then joined Brentford on a one-month loan deal starting on November 20 and played his first two games with the League One side.

More Wojciech Szczesny News