Football
ESPN staff 6y

Juventus keeper Wojciech Szczesny: I never improved while at Arsenal

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny believes he failed to develop at the Emirates because of less sophisticated coaching in the Premier League.

Szczesny, who joined defending Serie A champions Juventus in the summer, spent the majority of his career at Arsenal before being loaned to Roma for two years from 2015.

At Roma, he became the club's No. 1 keeper under manager Luciano Spalletti, and the 27-year-old Poland international told The Independent there is a stark difference between the level of coaching in the Premier League and Serie A.

"I think in general, the coaches in Italy are much more tactical, that's just how the league works," Szczesny said. "Whether it was [Luciano] Spalletti at Roma or Max Allegri here, the preparation for the game is different to what I was used to in England.

"You work on the shape of the team for a particular match all week. At Arsenal you'd just prepare physically for it but here you watch film analysing a specific opponent before the game and afterwards we'll watch again to see what worked and what didn't.

"I enjoyed working with some great coaches at Arsenal, Roma and here, but the goalkeeping school in Italy is very different, it's very technical and pays more attention to the details.

"It's really made a difference for me because I started playing at a very young age with Arsenal and as you play you gain experience and that's how you grow.

"But, honestly, I couldn't say from a technical standpoint that I improved in any way from when I became first-choice at Arsenal until the day I left for Roma.

"However, in the two-and-a-half years since I came to Italy, I've improved massively which is thanks to the coaches and the way they work. It's not about improving when you play, it's every day in training you have to work on every aspect of your game and that's something I've really enjoyed."

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