Cech Signing Makes Szczesny Schrödinger's Keeper

Yesterday betting on Petr Cech to Arsenal was suspended with a number of bookmakers - further fueling the hopes and desires of many Arsenal supporters that we will be getting a ready made world-class goalkeeper between the Arsenal sticks for the first time since Jens Lehmann.

Keeping two "starting" players happy in their competition is hard enough so the impending addition of Cech from Chelsea has many asking who will go from the two incumbents as there surely is not room for three.

It seems unlikely that David Ospina will be so brutally cast aside after establishing himself as Arsenal's number one in his first season at the club whilst Szczesny is being as publicly reprimanded for his smoking antics as possible without declaration.

Few would argue that Ospina possesses the superior talent and the general consensus is that Cech would get the best out of Szczesny and help groom him into being the long term world class number one for Arsenal his potential promised when Wenger brought him into the starting line-up as a 20 year old.

Currently our second choice keeper and with the prospect of a truly world class player like Cech joining the club - and most likely being put straight in as number one - Szczesny is a paradox, Schrödinger's keeper if you will. As a benched player he is simultaneously world class and a liability.

He is talented, that is not in doubt, how his talent manifests itself and is influenced by his mental state is unpredictable and an unpredictable keeper can be a liability. Jens Lehmann was as mad as a box of frogs dancing in grass skirts on a Friday in front of an audience of Clergymen hyped up on MDMA trying to convince Richard Dawkins of the existence of Swiss cheese. Utterly bonkers. Bonkers like a fox. Which makes no sense. Like Lehmann. But he was SOOOO good. Like totes good. I hate words like that but they are appropriate when talking about certain players.

Lehmann could cost you a game but he was also capable of glorious moments like the semi-final save against Riquelme to reach the Champions League final. But then he would get himself sent off - in a Champions League final. Szczesny has many of those elements such as the wonderful save against Udinese to get us into the Champions League and the horrendous mix up with Koscielny to lose the League Cup final to Alex F**KING McLeish - aka the lesser spotted ginger Mourinho.

Wojciech also makes those insane heart-in-mouth runs out of goal that shorten our lives like Jens used to do but unlike Jens he also has attitude issues which are probably the cause of his cyclical nature. Something Arsenal can ill afford to deal with when the team is so finely balanced. Lehmann had his moments on the pitch but he was a comsumate professional - Szczesny is yet to prove he can master himself.

People will say he is young and can be forgiven any misdemeanors because of his prodigious talent but two of the best keepers in the world are younger than him and at 25 years old the inexperienced excuse is wearing thin.

Szczesny needs to break his cycle. When he first came into the team he was a revelation and then he dropped the League Cup clanger. It was probably tough for a few people to forgive him that mistake but he knuckled down, worked on communicating with the defence and came back in his first full season and was incredible - possibly he was aided by a lack of true competition for his spot but the continued run in the side certainly helped his improvement.

The following season however cracks started to appear and his "media" personality started to show - the cocky young guy who enjoys a little attention. Maybe being thrust back into the team straight from recovering from injury swelled the young keepers head and already impressive opinion of himself but a loss in form saw him lose his place to Fabianski after the North London Derby loss in March 2013 and he only gained it back due to a rib injury to his compatriot. Who is to say what would have happened had Fabianski remained fit but once again a clear shot at the starting spot gave him the opportunity to improve again.

In 2013/14 Szczesny's held his spot as starting keeper and shared the Golden Glove with none other than Petr Cech. Once again it looked as though Szczesny's world class talent was shining through. Sadly the cycle continued and last season saw Szczesny test his undroppable status with a jinx too far by smoking in the St Mary's dressing room after a horrendous performance. 14, 24, 34, 44, 104 - what he did was stupid. There are no excuses. His mental state having lost the game aside, a professional football player - even a smoker - does not spark up in the changing room. 

His antics saw him rightly dropped and David Ospina has performed admirably and steadily, albeit without the commanding presence, in Wojciech's absence. When Szczesny first came into the team Wenger said he had done nothing to suggest he should be dropped and the same should apply for Ospina - unless we sign a far superior player of course. 

Ospina does not deserve to be unceremoniously cast asunder like a half-eaten KFC two piece meal on a Friday night in Cardiff and yet there is only room for one. Szczesny's youth, talent and positive element of his inconsistent record has surely earned him one final chance to impress at Arsenal but with a talent like Cech in the ranks he remains Schrödinger's keeper and until we put him in the starting line-up as our first choice keeper (open the box) he remains simultaneously class and a liability. Selling Ospina could prove to be a huge mistake as a less talented but steady and reliable keeper is of much greater benefit to the squad as a number two than a highly talented tightrope walker teetering on a fine wire with greatness or ruin on either side of him.

Selling Szczesny could also prove to be a huge mistake should he finally achieve equanimity and consistency elsewhere but then again can we predict if that would be due to the motivation of proving Arsenal wrong or and indictment of our impatience? Arsenal have certainly been patient with players before with mixed results.

Possibly the best course of action is to loan Szczesny to a top tier club with the intent to sell or play him in the following season - buying us crucial time to make the right decision for the club and player and to treat Ospina with dignity.

A loan spell after being displaced as Arsenal's number one could break the cycle. Szczesny - who is great at portraying himself as humble - could gain some humility and realise he isn't the finished article, he isn't the world's best keeper and he isn't undroppable at Arsenal (in the long term). He could be though. And a loan spell could help him see that consistency is the key to being an Arsenal goalkeeping legend. A good season under his belt elsewhere and the desire to do the same at Arsenal - as, technically, a fresh player - would be two full seasons of ego-less consistency and thus the cycle would be broken and the liability addendum stricken from his record.

I want to see Szcesny do well for Arsenal but if there is any doubt over his ability to keep his ego in Cech (excuse the awful pun and horrible mental image.... you dirty dog) then we should not be afraid to sell him. There is little room for sentiment in football these days and we must be careful on who we use it.

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