Latest news says its a loan deal with no option to buy. Wenger himself said he sees Chez at Arsenal but he won't get playing time with Cech around so he goes on loan so that'd match those comments
Yeah wenger and Szczesny both seem to have made comments that would suggest it's just a one year loan to get him playing time after which he will return and fight for his place. Which I assume means Ospina will be our cup keeper this year and back-up to Cech but at some point after this season will move on to make room for Szczeney in the match day squad.
My interpretation. I am very critical of keepers, as that was the position I played, and I demand certain things from them before I consider them good. I rate Wojciech Szczesny as one of the worst keepers to consistently get games in the premier league, the type of player that I suggest it is a genuine mystery has made a career, never mind a lucrative one, out of being pretty gash. The poster above who mentioned the mental aspects and attributes of the position being the main downfall is accurate in what he says. A specific mentality is required for goalkeeping. It is the loneliest position on the field at times, and you have to keep yourself motivated and concentrating for long periods sometimes, and that's something that affects players and makes the difference between the decent keepers from the good ones. Mignolet looked incredible at Sunderland, but has struggled at Anfield... Why? Because, although Liverpool are trying their best to be hapless at defending, Mignolet is being exposed as not having the greatest mental strength when it comes to being inactive for large portions of the game AND THEN having to pull off a world class save. Szczesny suffers a similar problem, although his general goalkeeping skill is poorer than Migs. He does flap at things, he's not ever going to be dominant in the box, he's one of the most capable goalkeepers in premier league history at presenting a gaffe at ridiculous times, and he's so rash he makes an outbreak of herpes look like a tiny mosquito bite. Szczesny is a liability, and one of the weaknesses I'm glad Arsenal have improved. Cech is another piece of the jigsaw. A strong CM and a faster CB and I think Arsenal will have a title-challenging squad.
Although I don't agree with what JPF says, it does highlight something for me about Chesney, has he been overhyped? One thing is for sure, we've gone though a long list of poor keepers for quite sometime and anyone remotely decent, will standout. We've had many a talented younger player arrive on the wave of hype and soon be moved on as failing to make the grade. He has had many more chances than others we've had and he has still failed to make the position his own. The fact that Wenger went out and got Cech from our most despised rival (Maureen) speaks volumes. IF he really was as good as we think he is, why is he being moved out on loan after so many years of first team football with us? We all know the reason for that, he won't get a single game with Cech around. Wenger puts a lot of faith in his players but even he knows that Chesney isn't good enough. Will he become good enough? We will soon find out in the next year or two, but as it stands, he isn't good enough to play for our first string lineup.
I'd say it's a case that one of the best players in the world in his position became available (Cech) for a cheap price, so Wenger was ruthless enough to get him. But he values Chesney enough to want to keep him but wants him to get 1st team games - so he's loaning him instead of selling him. Though I get the feeling he wanted to sell Ospina and keep Chesney, but Ospina wanted to stay... He's had some great seasons - winning the golden gloves ect. As well as having some howlers of games, he's also been at the heart of some of our large runs with hardly conceding any goals. So I think it's more a consistency thing than saying he's an over hyped, average keeper. True in the last season he didn't kick on as he should have, and instead he regressed significantly - which has probably put him behind where he should be, but he's obviously still good enough to be wanted by a top Seria A side. So hopefully he'll have kicked on by next season and by ahead of his development curve instead of behind it.
As i said earlier, Wenger shows a lot of faith in his players and gives every chance for them to succeed, especially if they go through our youth ranks. He is a good player but to play at the highest level, you need to maintain a consistent run of concentration and make minimal errors. He isn't the best in the air and his goal kicks are still not up to a high level, but he has improved in this manner. The truth is, does he instill the same sort of confidence a top of the range keeper instills? The answer is no. Is he a bad keeper? No. But at Champions level, you need an elite keeper who won't make that one disastrous mistake, you need a keeper that can shepard the defence and instill confidence in them. As you've pointed out, he regressed last season and was taken over by Ospina, who is good but not top standard. If we have any chance of challenging in the CL and PL title, then we need someone like Cech. One thing we know about Wenger and that is he isn't frivolous in spending or bringing in players, he sees a weakness and strengthens it. We will see this more regularly with our spending restrictions lifted. As for Chesney, we will see how good he is when he plays for Roma. If he plays well, he has a future. If he continue to play the way he did last season, then he will find it difficult to find his way back. Its difficult at the top, especially with our spending restrictions lifted, it will get a whole lot more difficult for players to make it, with Wenger becoming increasingly more ruthless. But this is Arsenal, we are a top European team.
