‘I Spent Nine Years At Arsenal – There Was One Opponent I Was Scared To Play Against’

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has admitted that every time he faced Lionel Messi, he was overcome with fear.

The 34-year-old briefly retired this summer, but was given an odd opportunity to return after Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen sustained a catastrophic knee injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. Szczesny, who has spent the last seven years with Juventus, agreed to return to football and join with the Catalan club earlier this month.

Read Also:Bukayo Saka: Arsenal Offered Massive New Injury Boost After The Latest Update

The former Poland number one began his professional career at Arsenal, where he spent nine years and won two FA Cups. Before leaving the club, Szczesny spent two years on loan at Roma, where his outstanding performances convinced Juventus that he was the ideal goalkeeper to follow the famous Gianluigi Buffon.

This helped Szczesny prove his naysayers wrong after being allowed to leave Arsenal, who even tried to re-sign him as second-choice to David Raya this summer. While he has had a highly successful career, the new Barcelona signing has admitted that Messi is the only player who has terrified him whenever they have met paths on the pitch.

What Szczesny told Mundo Deportivo

“I was always afraid to play against Leo.” Szczesny told Mundo Deportivo that other players had most likely scored more against him. “But he was the one person I was frightened to play against. Because he was so good.”

The goalie has faced the Argentinian icon six times, winning once with Arsenal in 2011 and being injured twice. Messi has three goals against Szczesny, but he was also responsible for what the goalie considers to be his biggest save. He denied Messi from the penalty spot in a 2-0 group defeat at the 2022 World Cup, with Szczesny’s save crucial as Poland advanced to the knockout stages on goal difference.

“The best or the biggest?” “That changes,” Szczesny explained. “The most satisfying save was Messi’s penalty in the Qatar World Cup, but it wasn’t the best save in my career. The stadium and the rival made that moment very special for me.”