Wojciech Szczesny says he has sympathy for Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici and believes the Australian deserves “a lot of credit”.
Federici made a string of fine saves in a fiercely-contested FA Cup semi-final but, having impressed for long periods, allowed Alexis Sanchez’s extra-time shot to squirm under his body.
Szczesny too has some negative memories from Wembley. Arsenal’s No 1 was involved in a defensive mix-up during the 2011 League Cup final, and he is sure that Federici will recover from his error.
"I thought he was terrific throughout the night and he was the reason the game was so tight, because he made four or five absolutely amazing saves"
“I’d like to think that he should make the headlines for the saves he made, rather than the one mistake he made,” the goalkeeper told Arsenal Player. “I thought he was terrific throughout the night and he was the reason the game was so tight, because he made four or five absolutely amazing saves.
“He was solid throughout the 120 minutes. It’s one of those things, I’ve been there and done that in the last minute at Wembley and I know how it feels.
“It must be difficult for him but I’m sure he knows himself that he had a terrific game and he deserves a lot of credit for that.”
Szczesny believes that Arsenal’s energy during extra-time was vital.
“Reading did work very hard. We did expect that - that’s exactly what you’re going to get from Championship sides. They never give up.
“At 1-0 at half-time, maybe some people would have thought it was all over but they stuck at it, they were very solid defensively, they had a great goalkeeper and got the goal.
“It was a difficult afternoon for us but in extra-time you could see that their legs went and we had a lot more room to play. The boys took advantage of that.”
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