Peter Schmeichel claims £10m man Arsenal sold ‘never accepted’ despite ‘doing really well’

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Peter Schmeichel has claimed that Wojciech Szczesny is someone who has done ‘really well’ at Arsenal and Juventus, but ‘never accepted’ in the top bracket of goalkeepers, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (20/10/21 at 7:45 pm)

The Premier League legend claimed that ‘you need be some goalkeeper’ to have dethrone a man of Gianluigi Buffon’s status in Turin.

It has been four years since Arsenal sold Szczesny to Juventus for £10 million (BBC Sport) – and he has enjoyed a healthy run of performances in the colours of the Italian giants.

Even during Juventus’s spell of winning back-to-back Serie A titles, Szczesny’s name and performances weren’t bandied about like others would have been.

But Schmeichel, who was probably regarded as the best keeper in the world during the peak of his powers at Old Trafford, shared that he is appreciative of someone like Szczesny.

“He has a very safe and steady pair of hands,” said Schmeichel “He is someone who has always tried to put himself in the top brackets of goalkeepers, but it’s like the outside world has never accepted him into that.

“I think he has done really well for Juventus. I also thought he did really well when he was at Arsenal, but it’s what I am saying there, that he’s not really been accepted as a good goalkeeper.

“He has done well, as I said he has safe pair of hands, he has a strong mentality. He wants to be the best of the best.

“Regardless of what age Buffon was, he still came in and took over the place from Buffon. And you need to be some goalkeeper to do that.”

At Arsenal, things weren’t always plain sailing for a young fresh-faced Szczesny, who faced many obstacles.

And perhaps those early years at the Emirates, where Arsenal were a club stagnating, most individuals inside it weren’t exactly handed A+ reports.

Those days in North London now seem pretty successful given where the club is now out, but not many would have envisaged such a dramatic fall.

One thing is for sure, Szczesny’s performances has improved drastically since leaving Arsenal, and whilst he might not get talked about alongside the elite keepers of the world, he is still being respected by one of the greatest shot-stoppers of all time.