Wenger predicts big things for Szczesny
Szczesny was given his opportunity in the white-hot atmosphere at Manchester United on Monday night despite making only three League Cup appearances previously.
Although he was beaten by Park Ji-sung's first-half winner as the Gunners crashed 1-0, after a difficult start, the youngster soon got used to his new surroundings.
One second-half save to deny Anderson was particularly impressive and Szczesny showed enough ability to suggest that he might one day provide an answer to Wenger's long-standing goalkeeping problems."The goalkeeper performed well," said Wenger. "He was a bit nervous in his kicking but he didn't make any mistakes with his hands.
"It was a big game. But in this job you do not look at the size of the game. You look at the quality of the player.
"Every big goalkeeper started at 18 or 19. I saw (Edwin) Van der Sar play in big games when he was 18."
It was some consolation for Wenger, who watched his team slip to their fifth defeat of the season after failing to capitalise on a dominance of possession.
Wenger was gracious enough to praise United's outstanding defensive effort. But he was very critical of the surface his side had to perform on.
"If I ask you do you want a good pitch or a bad one, what do you say?" he said.
"They made technical mistakes as well because the pitch is not good enough to play good football. It is bouncy and slippery."
Leave a Comment