Wojciech Szczesny has revealed that it was ‘clear’ he had to leave Arsenal and that once he knew that, Juventus’s offer was ‘very easy’ to accept.
Since leaving Arsenal, first on loan to Roma and then on a permanent deal to replace the best goalkeeper the game has ever seen, Wojciech Szczesny has developed into the keeper we all expected to see at Arsenal when he broke through as a teenager.
Poor management and coaching at the club, however, saw his development stall and a falling out with Arsene Wenger marked the end of his London adventure despite the fact he is better than either of the two keepers at the club.
Asked by Tuttosport if he had to think about the offer to join Juve, knowing he would have to wait for Gianluigi Buffoon to retire, Woj said, “No, once it was clear that it was time to go away from Arsenal, Juve’s offer came immediately and at that point the choice was very easy.
“On the one hand, it’s true, I knew that there was Gigi who is a legend in the history of football, but for me it was also an opportunity to train with the strongest goalkeeper in the world.
“And since I believe I have a lot of room to improve, it was an enormous opportunity to learn from such a champion. And then I think it’s a positive experience a year from … here, not a backup goalkeeper, because I do not feel like that, but still a goalkeeper who does not play all the games.
“Because I have never won a championship and I can learn from both Gigi and other champions how to behave in certain situations.
“Then it will be much easier to become the owner after this experience.”
That’s one of the things that angers Arsenal fans the most. Woj was prepared to wait for a year or two and study under Petr Cech but Arsene Wenger did not give him that option, shipping him out on loan the same summer the Czech arrived from Chelsea.
Woj also spoke about his manager, Massimiliano Allegri, named as a possible successor to Arsene Wenger when the Frenchman finally calls it a day. “For him, a role [similar] to Wenger is difficult to imagine.
“If you do that well, after five years someone comes along who offers twice as recruitment and Allegri is doing something exceptional.
“Even Wenger, he did very special things, then he did very well from an economic point of view for the club, but I would like to see them win more for the Arsenal fans.
“Allegri has the humility to make us defend: we know the quality, [what] to do, we have the goal, but the team that suffers less wins the championship.”