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Pros and Cons of Arsenal Loaning Wojciech Szczesny

By Josh Sippie

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Signing Petr Cech put Arsenal in a sticky situation that they have not become too familiar with. They had a surplus at a position that they did not exactly need a surplus at. David Ospina had a superb emergence last season and he did plenty to prove that he could anchor the back line.

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Wojciech Szczesny shared the Golden Gloves in 2013/14 and has always been touted as one of the most promising young keepers in the world. Although this past season did not exactly go to his liking, he still has proven that he could anchor that back line as well.

But in spite of it all, Arsenal signed Petr Cech, a goalie who eliminated all question marks in front of the net. A proven winner, Cech was a shoe-in for No. 1 keeper.

As such, talk began circulating that either Wojciech Szczesny or David Ospina was on the out. And that would only make sense. Why would a team need three No. 1 keepers? First, it was rumored that Ospina was headed out after just a year with Arsenal, but that did not seem very Arsene Wenger like, to essentially give up on a guy after one year with the team.

So eyes turned toward Wojciech Szczesny, as he was the oddball out. But that was not very much like Arsene Wenger either, as Szczesny was brought up through the Arsenal system and earned the No. 1 goalie spot at a very young age.

But that is where we stand, with Szczesny being the one rumored to be headed elsewhere. However, the rumors do not indicate a sale, they indicate a loan – to Roma (via ESPN FC).

As the article points out, Arsene Wenger has stated how much he wants his two keepers from last year to stay and duke it out with Cech at Arsenal. Similarly, both Arsenal keepers have voiced their desire to stay and fight for their spot as well.

Wojciech Szczesny even declared how happy he was to be able to learn under an elite keeper like Petr Cech.

Lets address the prospect of Wojciech Szczesny going out on loan. There are pros and cons to the potential move, as there is to any move (except Benzema, that move is all pros).

One pro is that the Pole in goal would be able to gather some first team experience when that was so lacking last year. He would be able to mature more on the pitch and understand his own abilities a bit more. That is pretty much what a loan is supposed to do, after all.

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However, one of the major drawbacks comes from being away from the team. Szczesny himself spoke about how excited he was to learn under Cech, so sending him away to Roma would eliminate one of the most exciting prospects of signing our new keeper – letting him teach Szczesny what he knows.

Another pro is that it will help us maintain David Ospina, who has more than earned a spot on the team. Granted, it just puts off the inevitable until next year, but it will give Ospina a chance to figure out what he wants to do and it will give Szczesny that aforementioned first-team experience. Plus it will save all potential goal-keeper drama – but again, just for one year.

Then there is the con of what it will do to Szczesny’s faith in the team. Arsenal loan people out all the time, but usually not after they have made their first-team impact. Szczesny has made his impact in the first team and to loan him out now, after he has declared his love for Arsenal, may shatter what image he has of the team and lead to a Bendtner-like situation where Arsenal may end up looking a tad like the bad guys.

I think Arsenal need to hang onto Szczesny and try to work some serious magic to maintain Ospina, Szczesny and Cech. It will require all hands on deck, but taking the statements at face value, it appears that all hands may very well be on deck.

Next: Can Danny Welbeck become a True CF?

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