News

Szczesny - I watched the game like a fan

Wojciech Szczesny says he enjoyed Tuesday's win over Napoli as an Arsenal fan - because he had so little to do.

The Italian side are one of the most respected teams in Europe right now but Arsene Wenger's players made a tough task look simple with a dominant display at Emirates Stadium. They led by two goals within 15 minutes and kept Napoli at arm's length to secure a second consecutive Champions League win.

Szczesny was barely tested on an unexpectedly quiet night for him - but he enjoyed his watching brief.

"I think for the first half an hour… I don't remember playing like that for a long time, not just this season"

"I think for the first half an hour… I don't remember playing like that for a long time, not just this season," Szczesny told Arsenal Player. "I was like one of the fans behind the goal, just watching the game, and I couldn't believe what was going on. We must have a couple of decent players or something! It was very enjoyable to watch.

"I think we had a very strong start, I was getting very bored in goal to be honest for the first half an hour! We were fantastic I thought, we got an early lead and then it was just a matter of defending well and making sure that we did our job correctly, and we did that."

Mesut Ozil caught the eye with his first Arsenal goal and another assist, and Szczesny thinks that will give the German playmaker even more confidence.

"Obviously it was good to see him scoring," he said. "We all know about his assists over the last few years and he got one today as well, but it's important for him to get confident, to score some goals.

"We've seen him in training and he can do that, he's a good finisher. We can expect a little bit more of that from him."

A double-header with Borussia Dortmund is next on the Group F agenda for Arsenal, and Szczesny is optimistic of picking up more points against last season's beaten finalists.

"We'll be confident, we'll take on anyone right now," he said. "I think you could see that in the first half. They will be very tough games and probably very tight but we're confident that we can get the six points and be safely in the last 16."