Some Arsenal players thought they could outsmart Arsene Wenger, but one star learned the hard way that such was not possible.
Wenger appeared to have a soft approach with his players over the years at Arsenal, but that didn’t open the door for the club legend to be disrespected.
In fact, on some occasions, Wenger showed how angry he could get, making it clear to his team when standards needed addressing.
The Arsenal legend’s success and ability to transform the Premier League didn’t come by chance, as there were few names in football as intelligent as Wenger, making any attempts to fool the boss rather pointless.
Wojciech Szczesny had a plan to redeem himself after Arsenal smoking incident
One player who did have a tactic to manipulate Wenger’s perspective was Wojciech Szczesny, who was desperate to redeem himself after a bizarre incident in 2015.
After Arsenal’s defeat to Southampton at St Mary’s on New Year’s Day, Szczesny was caught smoking a cigarette in the changing room, leading to a hefty fine and being dropped from the team.
Five years after the unheard-of decision on the South Coast, the ex-Arsenal goalkeeper opened up about the aftermath of his dressing room antics.
“He [Wenger] then said, ‘Look, you’re going to be out of the team for a little bit,’ but there were no big bust-ups or big confrontations. I was very professional about it,” Szczesny said on Arsenal’s ‘In Lockdown’ podcast.
Despite being demoted by Wenger, the Poland international admitted that he was confident that he’d soon return to the starting XI.
“I was fully expecting to be back in the team a few weeks later, but we had a good run of form and David Ospina, who came in goal, played really well for those few games. He stayed in.”
David Ospina’s form amid his absence led Szczesny to take drastic measures, which included him going on loan to try and prove his worth to Arsenal.
“That meant I was waiting and trying to win my place back in the team, or trying to convince him that I was still the best goalkeeper at the club by going out on loan.
“That sounds strange, but sometimes it’s the best way of doing it.”
Szczesny didn’t play for the remainder of the Premier League season, which led to his plan falling into place, but the outcome was opposite to what he anticipated.
Szczesny’s Arsenal plan backfired
Szczesny was highly rated at Arsenal, but it wasn’t enough for him to turn things around after his costly post-match cigarette at St Mary’s.
In the summer of 2015, the Pole left on loan, signing for Roma before leaving permanently in 2017 to sign for Juventus.
Szczesny’s plan to show Wenger that he was Arsenal’s best backfired immensely, as his changing room antics marked the end of his Premier League career.
The shot-stopper never played for Arsenal again after going out on loan, losing his way at the club of his heart over a post-match smoke.
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