by Lewis Ambrose

During Friday’s pre-Emirates Cup press conference Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger confirmed that Wojciech Szczesny is set to leave.

The Polish goalkeeper has been linked with a move to Roma, which Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio had already claimed was all but confirmed. Now Arsène Wenger has confirmed the move but remains hopeful that the goalkeeper will return to Arsenal a better player.

“He [Szczesny] could go. We are pretty much done, it’s down to paperwork,” confirmed the Arsenal manager.

“Szczesny is a top class goalkeeper and we have three who are all top. For one of the keepers, if he can play somewhere it is good.

“How much can he grow with Čech next to him if he is happy to share his huge experience? How much mentally can he live with the fact that he will not play regularly?”

Arsenal have already used Szczesny in 132 Premier League and 29 Champions League games; the goalkeeper is not lacking in experience. But if Wenger is right and playing regularly is better for Szczesny’s development than simply training with Čech who are we to argue?

Still just 25 years old, Szczesny  joined the club back in 2006 when he was 16: nobody knows him better than Wenger. He still has plenty of time to prove himself and maybe a year of being first choice elsewhere will help him do just that.

“I believe he will have a future at Arsenal because I rate him highly. I don’t want the opportunity he had at a young age to be wasted,” the Arsenal manager explained.

So now it is all but confirmed that Szczesny will be in Rome next season. Hopefully, for him and for Arsenal, he isn’t sold and returns as a better goalkeeper next summer.