Szczesny holds his own

The goalkeeping position at Arsenal has been under question ever since the first retirement of Jens Lehmann, but it now finally seems to a be a question that has an answer, and that answer seems to be in the form of the commentator's nightmare that is Wojciech Szczesny, the young Polish goalkeeper who has made the position his own in recent months.

If Szczesny wishes to carry on showing he is capable of making the grade at a top English club, however, he will need to prove that he can pick himself up from the Carling Cup final defeat earlier this season that left him a broken man, while also proving that he can be a leader despite his tender age. Those thinking about place a Premier League bet on Arsenal should bear this in mind.

Should Szczesny do this successfully and display his assets as both a shot stopper and a keeper who can turn defence into attack effectively, then he will not only be considered as a decent young prospect, but also a man who can emulate the likes of Edwin van der Sar by becoming a mainstay in a major team for the next twenty years. Arsenal were Andy Gray tips to win the title this year, but the lack of a top keeper hurt them.

However, even though the chances are that he will succeed at the Emirates, especially given the fact that the crowd are firmly behind the young keeper, it is often the case that players don't end up getting what they had hoped for or deserved and, if this is the case, yet more questions will be asked about the goalkeeping position at the club and why Arsene Wenger has not gone out to spend a fair amount of money on buying a top quality goalkeeper who doesn't need to spend time developing at the club.