All goalkeepers are crazy, they say, but on-loan Arsenal FC custodian Wojciech Szczesny apparently takes the cliche to a whole new level, as he is an “uncontrollable lunatic”.
These are the words of former Juventus keeper Stefano Tacconi, who has criticised the Arsenal FC man, plying his trade on loan at AS Roma.
a Hea s a good goalkeeper, therea s no doubt about that,a Tacconi was quoted as saying to Gazzetta TV (via The Independent). a But hea s an uncontrollable lunatic a hea s completely mad. And for this reason hea s a risk. What rating would I give him? 7.5.a
Tacconi played for Juventus in the 1980s, and is the only goalkeeper to have won all the international club competitions — European Cupwinners’ Cup (1984), Super Cup (1984), Champions Cup (1985), Intercontinental Cup (1985), and the UEFA Cup (1990) — with the Turin club. He has also represented Italy on seven occasions.
Szczesny meanwhile, had fallen down the pecking order at Arsenal FC, after a string of poor performances and his place as the No. 1 keeper at the club was taken over by Columbian David Ospina. Later, after the signing of Czech Republic international Petr Cech from Chelsea FC, the Polish international became the third choice for his team.
Szczesny drawing criticism for bad performances
The player had moved on-loan to AS Roma, at the start of the 2015/16 season in order to get some game time. However, his performances have not been that great at the Italian club, drawing a lot of criticism. In eight Seria A appearances for AS Roma, Szczesny has only managed to get one clean sheet, making 3.1 saves per match.
His record at the UEFA Champions League has been even worse. Szczesny has played all of Roma’s four matches in Group E of the competition, and has conceded a whooping 10 goals in the process. However the Roma forwards have been impeccable this season netting 10 times in the four matches, and are second only to FC Bayern Munich (13) and Bayer Leverkusen (11) in the competition.
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With the arrival of Petr Cech from Chelsea FC for A?11 million at Arsenal FC, it does not seem that Szczesny has much of a future at the North London club. Therefore, it would be interesting to see whether AS Roma extends his current deal to a permanent one, even after this string of poor performances.