Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has told dropped goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to look what Manchester City’s Joe hart did, and prove himself once more.
The Gunners boss decided to drop the Polish keeper following a run of mistakes and the fact he was caught smoking in the showers for which he was fined £20,000.
Manchester City goalkeeper and England number one Joe Hart faced a similar fate under manager Manuel Pellegrini who dropped the England international much to everyone’s surprise.
To give him his due though Hart took the bitter medicine and was able to come back stronger than ever to claim his starting place in the team.
And now Szczesny faces a similar fate having to unseat Colombian international Ospina for his place back in the team.
He said: “Was it a wakeup call for Szczesny? I don’t know (it’s up to him).
“He has played many games and sometimes when you have a little breather it helps you to refocus and get yourself together.
“Just before Southampton he had a very good game at West Ham and was man of the match.
“I think he is a great goalkeeper and will have a great career but he goes a little bit. I took Jens Lehmann out (of the side) like that.
“City did it with Hart. Your place is never safe, because you and I well know that every game lost is a crisis in the club.
“What has changed is that the players are much more stressed and pressured than 10 or 15 years ago as everything is analysed.
“Every moment is analysed of every event on television.
Just after the game the players open the television and hear ‘why did he move on the right and not on the left’. That was not the case before.
“It is the price to pay for the popularity of the sport.
“We have the good sides and have to take the bad sides as well. But people want to be informed. You over-analyse only because people want to watch it. The demand is there”
Wenger now feels that his side have made up ground on big spending City.
He added: “They were ahead of everybody but let’s see on Sunday and show it on Sunday. A big win takes problem away. It makes you stronger. “I believe we don’t have to question our potential to do it. What you want is to turn up with the right performance.”
Wenger went on to defend his record against a top four side:
“Look, it depends if you look at the record over the last two or three years or the last 18 years.
“If you look at the last 18 years it would be very good. But it is true that in the last few years it is not good.
“Two years ago we had a very good record against the top teams and very bad against the lower teams. Last year it was reverse.
“So, sometimes it is coincidence of the calendar, sometimes confidence. But I believe there is no reason why we shouldn’t do well against the top teams.”
