Wojciech Szczesny

Wojciech Szczęsny is Polish professional footballer, born on 18th April 1990 in Warszawa, Poland.The goalkeeper currently plies his trade for Serie A side, Juventus.

Background

Szczęsny started his initial football career at Agrykola Warszawa in 2004. A year later he joined Legia Warsaw and made his debut for the side at age of 15. In 2006, he joined Arsenal youth team and made his senior debut in the League Cup encounter against West Bromwich Albion in September 2009. Just three days before his international debut in 2009, the custodian joined Brentford on loan as he did not get further chances at Arsenal.

Szczęsny also featured in the Poland national side at Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 levels.

Debut

Szczęsny appeared as a 46th-minute substitute in his maiden international appearance in an international friendly against Canada in November 2009.

Rise to Glory

In October 2014, Szczęsny stepped up as the saviour for Polish side as Poland snatches their first victory over Germany by 2-0 in the Group A European qualifiers encounter. The custodian pulled up as much as nine saves to write a new chapter in Polish football history.

While Playing for Roma in the 2016-17 season, Szczęsny kept 14 clean sheets in 38 appearances- the most in the Italian top-tier.

Low Points

Overconfidence and some reckless mistakes by Szczęsny did not help the goalkeeper’s career.

However, at Euro 2012, he got the opportunity to prove himself but he was shown the red card for a foul on Dimitris Salpingidis in the 68th minute in the first match against Greece. He was didn’t play in the tournament after that.

Club Career

After making only one appearance for the Gunners, Szczęsny played 28 matches for his loan-side Brentford in the 2009-2010 season. The Polish international impressed Arsene Wenger to become the first choice goalkeeper for Arsenal in January 2011. Szczęsny put up some exceptional performances to win the 'golden glove' in the 2012-13 campaign. After the arrival of Petr Cech, Szczęsny hardly got picked ahead of the Czech custodian.

Szczęsny joined Serie A side, AS Roma, on loan in 2015 to have first team exposure. The talented custodian performed well for the Italian side and appeared 81 times.

After completion of the loan, Szczęsny parted ways with Arsenal and penned a four-year contract with Italian giants Juventus, in July 2017.. At Arsenal, he lifted the FA Cup twice and won one Community Shield with the Gunners.