Wojciech Szczesny looked destined to become Arsenal’s long-term goalkeeper before his career in North London fell apart, but he succeeded elsewhere.
Szczesny joined the Arsenal Academy in January 2006 as a teenager, and would eventually become the number one option under Arsene Wenger, replacing the unreliable Manuel Almunia.
The Poland International was still young when he became Wenger’s first-choice, and there were calls to replace him with more experienced options such as Maarten Stekelenburg.
Szczesny then began to perform well, and even won the Golden Glove in the 2013-14 season. However, a year later, his Arsenal career was over.
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How Wojciech Szczesny smoking incident ruined his Arsenal career
Szczesny suffered a dip in form at the start of the 2014-15 season, and on January 1st 2015, he made two glaring mistakes as Arsenal lost 2-0 away at Southampton.
The pressure was ramped up on the goalkeeper, and this went from bad to worse as he was caught smoking in the changing rooms after the game.
Szczesny was reportedly fined £20k, with Wenger seemingly furious at the goalkeeper, as the Frenchman had previously criticised Jack Wilshere for smoking a cigarette.
“I disagree completely with that behaviour. When you are a football player you are an example and you don’t do what damages your health,” Wenger stated of smoking in 2013.
Szczesny was dropped for David Ospina, and only played in the FA Cup as Arsenal won the trophy in 2015, before he was then loaned out to AS Roma, but the goalkeeper did not begrudge Wenger for his decision.
Wojciech Szczesny did not hate Arsene Wenger for ending his Arsenal ‘dream’
Szczesny came up through the Hale End Academy and was a true Arsenal fan, but he lost his place at the club after his smoking incident, with Wenger signing Petr Cech to replace him.
Speaking shortly after his loan move to Roma, Szczesny claimed that there was no fallout with Wenger despite the decision to axe him from the side.
“I never hated Wenger, I owe him a lot. I never hated him, I have always taken responsibility for my mistakes and not created any problems,” Szczesny claimed.
“The history of the cigarette in the locker room is real, but it is false that I argued with Wenger.
“Everyone knows that I have made mistakes but I have always accepted the consequences. Wenger was always clear to me and I believe that anyone who is honest is to be treated with honesty.”
Speaking a few years later, Szczesny admitted that he cried after he left Arsenal, with his dream in tatters.
“I cried when I left Arsenal. It was the end of my dream of playing for this club all my life. If I could write my career over again, I would probably only spend it at Arsenal,” he revealed.
“Now I don’t regret that it happened, because I did well both sportingly and financially. However, it was a very difficult moment for me.”
Szczesny went on to have an excellent career at Juventus before announcing his shock retirement in the summer of 2024, but he has since reversed his decision to sign for Barcelona. However, the issue of smoking has come up again.
Wojciech Szczesny defiant over smoking incident following Barcelona move
Despite the smoking incident essentially ruining his chances at Arsenal, Szczesny has since been spotted smoking again, just after signing for Barcelona. However, the veteran is insistent that it does not affect his performance levels.
“There are things that I don’t change in my personal life and it’s nobody’s business if I smoke. I believe that it doesn’t affect what I do on the pitch, I work twice as hard,” Szczesny told Mundo Deportivo.
“I don’t do it in front of kids because I don’t want to have a bad influence on them. Sometimes somebody will take a photo from the trees where I have a cigarette, that’s on them, not on me.
“If somebody thinks that I will change the way I am in my personal life they can think again because I am who I am. I’ve been this way my whole life.”
Szczesny has always been a fierce character, and he did develop into a top goalkeeper and appeared for some of Europe’s biggest clubs. Nevertheless, there may be a sense of regret on all sides that he did not become the long-term number one at Arsenal.
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