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Post by dorf on Jan 7, 2015 9:03:37 GMT
 Wojciech Szczesny expects to regain his place in the Arsenal team to face Stoke City on Sunday, despite the furore over him smoking a cigarette in the shower area of the dressing room after his most recent appearance.The goalkeeper sparked up after the 2-0 defeat at Southampton on New Year’s Day to anger the manager, Arsène Wenger, who has previously voiced displeasure when his players have been rumbled for smoking. Szczesny has been fined by the club but there is no question of him being internally suspended or, as the former Arsenal midfielder John Jensen suggested on Danish TV, facing exile from the team. Wenger will consider him for the visit of Stoke and Szczesny, who did not play in Sunday’s 2-0 home win over Hull City in the FA Cup, believes that the incident will not influence the manager’s selection. The pair have always enjoyed a strong relationship. The decision to rest him against Hull City and give the back-up, David Ospina, only his third appearance for the club was taken by Wenger before the Southampton game, when Szczesny was badly at fault for both of the goals. His senses looked to be scrambled after the second one, when he booted the ball at Dusan Tadic, and watched the Southampton winger shoot inside his near post. Szczesny, who was on the ground, responded by reaching into the back of the net, grabbing his water bottle and taking three long glugs. He evidently needed something stronger in the dressing room afterwards. Ospina had little to do against Hull and he previously looked a little erratic against Southampton in the Capital One Cup and Galatasaray in the Champions League. Wenger knows that Stoke will bring a direct and physical style and he must decide whether Ospina is the man to repel it. Southampton apart, Szczesny has been generally reliable this season. by David Hytner /Guardian |
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