Can Arsenal’s Current Squad Rival Thierry Henry’s Invincible-Era Arsenal?

View image | gettyimages.com

Jans Lehmann vs Wojciech Szczesny

This one hit me like a slap in the face. I’ve defended Wojciech Szczesny from the moment he hit first-choice keeper and he’s proven me right more times than not. But could he ever rival Jans Lehmann?

Obviously, 98% of you (me included) said “no!” immediately upon reading that question, but it’s a more complicated “no” than we’re giving it credit for.

Lehmann’s first season at the club was the Invincible season, where every single thing that could have went right, did go right. But the following season, Lehmann was not that stellar and he lost his starting role to Manuel Almunia. By the end of the 2004/5 season, speculation was running rampant that his time at Arsenal was over and that he’d need to be replaced.

He rebounded the following season, however, and still holds the Premier League record for most clean sheets in a row (10).

Szczesny has had a similar run to Lehmann. He’s obviously not an Invincible, but he shared the Golden Gloves last year before having a set back this year. But like Lehmann, Szczesny could recover and prove that he is a world class keeper (again).

So the answer to the question is not “no,” it’s “not yet.”