The Arsenal goalkeeper has stormed through the ranks at the Emirates, and will get his first taste of international competitive action in Warsaw.
Wojciech Szcz?sny POLAND
Over the years, Poland has become renowned for blooding men to stand between the sticks and it is a tradition that still carries on through to today. Arguably the most well-known Polish keeper in England, especially to the older generation, would be Jan Tomaszewski; the man Brian Clough labelled a clown before he proceeded to deny the Three Lions a spot at World Cup 1974 almost singlehandedly.
In more recent years, Jerzy Dudek and Artur Boruc will be remembered for their time minding the nets at Liverpool and Celtic respectively; and while both ?ukasz Fabia?ski and Tomasz Kuszczak are constantly overlooked at club level, they are both held in high regard in their homeland. But when in May 2009 a 19-year old Polish keeper by the name of Wojciech Szcz?sny appeared on the Arsenal bench for a league game against Stoke City, few could have predicted the speed of his ascent to becoming the number one for his club and national side.
Wojtek moved to England at the age of 16, having spent a year at the Legia Warszawa academy regarded as the best in Poland. After working his way to the fringes of the Gunners reserve side in late 2008, an accident during a weights session caused the 6 5 Pole to fracture both of his forearms. While such an injury would be enough to destroy the confidence of many, Szcz?sny s quick recovery and eagerness to return to the field of play meant that he found himself on the fringes of the first-team squad before the season was over.
After spending most of the 2009/10 season at on-loan at League One side Brentford, Szcz?sny returned to the Emirates eager to break into the first team. After injuries to both Fabia?ski and Manuel Almunia, he finally got his chance in December against Manchester United. After impressing in the 1-0 defeat, and again the following week against West Ham, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger confirmed that the 19-year old would remain as his number one.
The talent was always there but he is maturing quickly. I like that he is a good communicator Wenger told reporters. He later added that Overall he has the basic talent to be a top class keeper. How far he goes will depend on how much he wants to improve .
National team coach Franciszek Smuda also took notice of Szcz?sny s notable composure and agility; and in early 2011, he included the keeper in his starting line-up for a friendly game against Norway, adding to a substitute appearance against Canada 14 months earlier.
Since then, the Warsaw-born stopper has been a permanent fixture in both the Arsenal and Poland set-ups. He has not missed a league game for his club during the 2011/12 season, as well as eclipsing his father Maciej s tally of seven national team caps, drawing many plaudits along the way.
Now 22, he head s towards Euro 2012 as one of his country s stand-out performers. A recent clean-sheet against Portugal in Warsaw drew significant praise in the media, as did an outstanding performance in a 2-2 tie with Germany one that Szcz?sny describes as probably the best performance in my career .
However due to the fact that Poland haven t needed to qualify for this summer s tournament, Szcz?sny still has yet to make his competitive début for the Bia?e-Or?y, but as he claims, it won t make the slightest difference.
It would matter if it was club football but when you are with the national team it doesn t really matter whether you play a friendly game or a competitive game, Wojciech told Arsenal s official website.
Playing for the national team is the best feeling in the world, it doesn t get any better.
