Former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has opened up about his departure from the English Premier League side in a recent interview. The goalkeeper also talk about the quality of coaching he has experienced since leaving the Emirates.
Wojciech Szczesny speaks about leaving Gunners
Szczesny spoke to the The Independent, and opened up about his decision to leave the Emirates.
“I was always honest with them [Roma],” Szczesny said about his time with Roma last season. “When I went there, my only aim was to get back to Arsenal and play for them again.”
After realising their were no opportunities at Arsenal due to Petr Cech being as starting goalkeeper, Szczesny signed with Juventus in the offseason.
“Once I knew that couldn’t happen and I had this opportunity to join Juventus… it was tough” Szczesny said. “Accepting that my time with Arsenal was over was difficult, because I never imagined leaving.
“I supported them as a kid and I got to play for the club of my dreams, but life goes on. It was the right thing for me and both clubs and, while one side of me found it difficult to say it was over, the other said lets just get it done.”
Wojciech Szczesny speaks about coaching
During the interview with The Independent, Szczesny talk about the differences in coaching in Italy and England.
“I think in general, the coaches in Italy are much more tactical, that’s just how the league works,” Szczęsny stated. “Whether it was [Luciano] Spalletti at Roma or Max Allegri here, the preparation for the game is different to what I was used to in England.
“You work on the shape of the team for a particular match all week. 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.
“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.
“It’s really made a difference for me, because I started playing at a very young age with Arsenal and as you play you gain experience and that’s how you grow. But, honestly, I couldn’t say from a technical standpoint that I improved in any way from when I became first-choice at Arsenal until the day I left for Roma.
“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.”
Since joining Juventus ahead of this season, Szczesny has kept two clean sheets in two appearances.
