With Aaron Ramsdale apparently headed for the Emirates Stadium exit door, a move for Wojciech Szczesny to Arsenal seems to have become all the more likely.
Ramsdale is expected to leave the Emirates after being deposed by David Raya in his third season in North London.
Wojciech Szczesny has Arsenal in his blood, with the Poland number one having joined the club at 16 from Legia Warsaw. He speaks English with something of a London accent too, meaning that the language barrier that can hamper a lot of foreign goalkeepers is a non-issue.
But that's not all…
Wojciech Szczesny to Arsenal: the search for a number two
Szczesny became Arsenal number one early in his career, but fell out of favour. He spent two years on loan at Roma, before joining Juventus in 2017, eventually succeeding Gianluigi Buffon.
But Szczesny has never lost his fondness for the Gunners. He speaks passionately about his former club, and has been known to poke fun at arch-rivals Tottenham on social media.
Szczesny has been successful at Juventus, but at 34, the Old Lady are looking to trade him in for a younger model.
If he is willing to become a number two as his years advance, Szczesny could have a fairytale return to Arsenal, and a potential reunion with his old captain, Mikel Arteta.
Szczesny knows the club inside out, is well-liked by supporters, would be a valuable experienced head in a young dressing room. However, the largest potential roadblock in a Szczesny return to N5 is his wages. His salary at Juve is reportedly £100,000-a-week wages, and that’s after tax.
With pricey targets like Bruno Guimaraes also on Arsenal's radar, such wages may be too much to swallow. Arsenal will hope that the Polish stopper might consider a wage cut to come home, but it cannot be counted on.
Arsenal’s alternatives
Should Arsenal's mission fail, they have two potential backups.
The first is Jason Steele. The 33-year-old Brighton goalkeeper has shared the number one jersey on the south coast the last two seasons, depending on how Roberto de Zerbi is looking to play.
Steele is not an exceptional shot-stopper like Szczesny. However, he is superb with his feet, particularly short passes.
The Englishman’s arrival would mean that Arsenal would not have to adapt their game to accommodate a goalkeeper unconfident with their feet, should David Raya be unavailable.
Steele is only on £20,000 per week at Brighton, and would surely relish the chance to make a step up, even to be a number two.
Arsenal’s other alternative option is Ajax’s 22-year-old goalkeeper, Diant Ramaj. The German is excellent with his feet, as is to be expected from an Ajax goalkeeper.
Ramaj’s age is a positive, in that he has plenty of room to develop. Arsenal have a positive relationship with Ajax too, so a deal is likely possible.
However, after his first season as a first-choice goalkeeper, Ramaj may not want to be relegated to number two again.
