Former Gunners Stopper Claims He Didn't Improve Technically Under Arsene Wenger

The art of being a top professional goalkeeper is a challenging journey, one where you are constantly tested physically, technically and mentally. 

Although Wojciech Szczesny spent eight seasons at Arsenal and made 181 first team appearances, the Polish stopper believes he never improved from a technical point of view throughout his time at the north London club.

In the summer, Szczesny made the decision to sever his connection with Arsenal, a club he has always supported, and sign for Italian giants Juventus on a permanent deal for £10m. 

He now finds himself challenging for the Bianconeri's number one position with a modern goalkeeping great in Gianluigi Buffon. 

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After spending two season on loan at AS Roma, Szczesny acknowledges that Italian clubs are more advanced in their coaching of players, he told The Independent .

“I think in general, the coaches in Italy are much more tactical, that’s just how the league works. At Arsenal you’d just prepare physically for it but here you watch film analysing a specific opponent before the game and afterwards we’ll watch again to see what worked and what didn’t.

“However, in the two-and-a-half years since I came to Italy, I’ve improved massively which is thanks to the coaches and the way they work. It’s not about improving when you play, it’s every day in training you have to work on every aspect of your game and that’s something I’ve really enjoyed.”

Football supporters may find reading these comments difficult to comprehend as Arsene Wenger is recognised as a manager that thrives on developing the technical side of his team. Nevertheless, there does seem to be a disparity to how goalkeepers are coached and developed at Arsenal to their counterparts at top clubs in Serie A.

The Polish international explained: "I enjoyed working with some great coaches at Arsenal, Roma and here, but the goalkeeping school in Italy is very different – it’s very technical and pays more attention to the details."

Naturally, it must have been a difficult decision to leave the Emirates, however the chance for Szczesny to develop his all round goalkeeping ability, in Italy, was just too good an opportunity to turn down.