Szczesny – Swansea defeat was a turning point

By Rob Kelly

Wojciech Szczesny believes Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to Swansea City at Emirates Stadium last month was a turning point for the team.

Since that reverse at the hands of the Welsh club, the Gunners have won four and drawn one of their last five Premier League matches.

They face Michael Laudrup’s side in the FA Cup third round on Sunday, and Szczesny says the team will head to the Liberty Stadium in buoyant mood.

“We realised we had to change some things [after that defeat] because we didn’t perform well enough to play for this club at that time,” the goalkeeper said.

“We have worked very hard for each other, we’ve stayed together and that’s why we’ve turned things around.

“We have recovered very well and the results have shown the massive improvement that we’ve made. We’ll be going [to Swansea] much more confident than we were before the previous game.”

Szczesny is looking forward to competing in the FA Cup again, and admits he has high hopes for the team’s chances this season.

“It’s massive. Everyone realises how big a competition it is,” he said. “It’s just as big as the Premier League for us. We want to take our chances of getting as far as we can.

“There’s always a special atmosphere when you play in the FA Cup. We know how much it means and we want to win the trophy.”

[Saturday, January 05, 2013]