According to the Sun today, Arsenal shot stopper Wojciech Szczesny has been forced to train with the Arsenal under-21s squad following a fall out with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.
This follows reports of Szczesny receiving a ban for smoking in the showers and also some less than impressive performances, most notably the horror show at St. Mary’s.
The Pole has not played a game since Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat at Southampton on New Year’s Day and it seems as though that will continue for some time following this revelation.
It appears Wenger has lost patience with the goalkeeper and has decided to send him out to train with the under-21s as a form of punishment. Wenger has refused to publicly criticise Szczesny and the club are claiming that this new idea was put in place to give the Pole extra work.
David Ospina has replaced Szczesny between the sticks since the Southampton games and has kept two clean sheets against Hull City and Stoke City, although he hadn’t much to do in them games. It seems almost guaranteed that Ospina will start in goal today ahead of Szczesny against Premier League contenders Manchester City at the Etihad. It is certain Ospina will be tested in this game so it is a good chance for Arsenal fans to see his worth.
If Ospina throws in a good performance today, Szczesny could well be frozen out of the team and stuck on the bench for some time. It’s safe to say it hasn’t been the best of starts to 2015 for the Polish ‘keeper as it looks as though the boss has given up on him, for now at least.