Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny believes his friend, compatriot and rival Lukasz Fabianski has great potential to be one of ArsenalÂ’s future stars.
The 17-year-old Academy stopper knows Fabianski from his days at Legia Warsaw and was overjoyed when the Gunners made their move for the Poland international at the end of last season. Szczesny insists the capture will prove to be a shrewd piece of business.
“Fabianski has the potential to be a big player for Arsenal,” he told Arsenal.com. “At the moment he is the best Polish goalkeeper I think and he is still very young — just 22. He’s got big potential and I think he can do it in the Premiership.”
“I’ve known him for three years or so. I used to train with him at a goalkeeping school, then we played together at Legia Warsaw. We are good mates. We kept in touch when I left Legia and now fortunately we are together at Arsenal.
“Hopefully one day I’ll be No 1 and he’ll be No 2,” jokes Szczesny, who made a first-team appearance for Legia aged just 15. “But, you know, I wish him good luck because I really like him and it doesn’t matter where we play in the future, I hope he’ll be a success in football and me also.”
The youngster certainly seems to be moving in the right direction. In the summer he was selected for the Under-20 World Cup in Canada. Although he did not feature in PolandÂ’s run to the last 16, as one of the youngest players at the tournament, Szczesny was grateful of the opportunity.
“It was a good experience for me. To be honest I didn’t expect my coach to call me up for that tournament because I’m three years younger than the level. Obviously I didn’t play but it was still a good experience to be part of it. I think it’s one of the most important tournaments in the world. For me it was great and, of course, I really enjoyed it.”
With Szczesny on international duty and Fabianski busy adjusting to life at Arsenal, the two are yet to find the time to catch up. Having made the same move just over a year ago, the younger Pole is looking forward to comparing notes.
“I spoke to him for about five minutes when he signed to wish him good luck at Arsenal and so on,” he said. “Then I spoke to him when he got back from the pre-season training camp in Austria, but in time I’m sure we’ll have more time to speak about London, Arsenal, English football, everything."
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