Wojciech Szczęsny has revealed that the injury he suffered as a teenager at Arsenal ultimately pushed him into his first retirement, as he opened up about the lasting physical toll of the double arm fracture he sustained at London Colney in 2008.
The former Arsenal goalkeeper was only 17 when a freak accident in the club gym left him with both forearms broken.
While training with free weights, Szczęsny lost his balance during a barbell exercise and the bar crashed down onto his arms, fracturing both radii. Arsène Wenger later confirmed at the time that the bar had “fell on his hands… and crushed his forearms”, with initial fears inside the club that the injuries could seriously threaten his career.
The damage required surgery and the insertion of metal plates in both arms. Szczęsny was sidelined for several months during the 2008 to 2009 season, just as he was pushing towards the first team.
He would eventually recover, go on to establish himself as Arsenal’s number one and build a long career at the top level, but he has now admitted the consequences never truly left him.
In a recent interview with GQ, Szczęsny explained that the chronic pain linked to those fractures was the decisive factor behind his decision to step away from football the first time. He said he retired because he was “tired of suffering”.
He added: “In training I end up feeling pains that make me completely lose the feeling of my hands. I can’t even hold a water bottle. It doesn’t happen to me during matches.”
Szczęsny directly linked those episodes to the 2008 accident and the plates that still hold his forearms together, describing the condition as something he has had to manage throughout his career.
After walking away from the game, he later returned by joining Barcelona.