Arsenal: Szczesny Loan Deal Obvious But Sensible

Arsenal’s Wojciech Szczesny has rejoined Roma on a one-year loan deal. While the move has been expected for some time and was obviously going to happen at some point, that does not make it any less sensible.

The departure of talented players that will not enjoy their deserved playing time is always an indication of a strong squad. Over the past few years, Manchester City and Chelsea have, perhaps more than any other club in the league, possessed the strongest and deepest squads.

Related Story: Arsenal Hold Talks With Antoine Griezmann: Surely Not?

However, quietly and efficiently, Arsene Wenger has built a rather formidable Arsenal squad. While there are certainly areas that are lacking in true world class quality, many of the positions are deep with plenty of solid replacements ready at the helm.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park

One such position is at goalkeeper. With the return of Wojciech Szczesny from his year-long loan deal with Roma, Arsenal boasted perhaps the strongest trio of keepers in the Premier League. Number one Petr Cech is one of the most reliable performers going, while both David Ospina and Szczesny himself are deserving of starting jobs elsewhere and are more than capable back-ups.

It was a position that was inevitably going to see a departure and it was always likely that it would be Szczesny once again. The only unknown was where and in what form would the Polish international leave. Well, today it was announced that Szczesny has rejoined his former club Roma on another season-long loann.

While the deal had a sense of when not if, that does make the move any less clever. The most important part of the deal is that it is only a loan, not a permanent move. Consequently, with Szczesny still possessing immense natural talent and a bright future ahead of him, Arsenal are not ruling themselves out of enjoying such a future.

Moreover, Szczesny will likely reprise his role as the starter at Roma once again, giving him valuable game time that Arsenal could not provide with both Cech and Ospina sitting above him in the squad.

Next: Arsenal: Top 5 Thierry Henry Goals

While it is sad to see a talented player walk out the door of the Emirates, it was a move that has been coming for some time. The inevitable nature of the deal, however, does not make it any less wise, as Arsenal could yet be the club who reap the long-term rewards of Szczesny’s back-to-back loan spells.