Ex-Arsenal star 'in talks' with club as he 'considers' rapid retirement U-turn

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has revealed he is seriously thinking about coming out of retirement. Despite playing regularly for Juventus in the 2023/24 campaign, the 34-year-old and the club reached a mutual agreement to terminate his contract in August and was released as a free agent.

Later in August, he announced his decision to retire from professional football, bringing the curtain down on a career that also saw him win 84 caps for Poland.

However, less than four weeks after walking away from the game, a keeper crisis at Barcelona has now prompted Szczesny to consider a shock U-turn.

During Sunday’s 5-1 win over Villarreal, Barca No.1 and skipper Marc-Andre ter Stegen suffered a rupture of the patella tendon in his right knee. The 32-year-old fell awkwardly after claiming a high ball and was visibly in pain as he was carried off on a stretcher.

He was replaced at the interval by Inaki Pena, for what was only the Spaniard’s 13th La Liga appearance since returning from Galatasaray on loan in the summer of 2022. That development led to reports the Catalan club were in talks with Szczesny, who has now spoken frankly on the speculation.

“Yes, I’m now in talks and considering Barça move. It’d be disrespectful if I didn’t consider this option for my career,” he told Diario Sport. “Barça is one of the best clubs in the world.”

Szczesny remains a popular figure at Arsenal after first joining the club academy from Legia Warsaw in 2006. He eventually departed for Roma in 2014 having made 181 Arsenal appearances and helping the club to two FA Cup wins.

Two years later he joined Juve, and spent seven seasons as the No.1 in Turin. During that period, he played for The Old Lady 252 times and won three Serie A and three Copa Italia titles.

His Champions League experience is likely to appeal to Hansi Flick, who has enjoyed a strong start to life in Catalonia. The club top the table with a perfect 18 points from their opening six games, and the German manager will not want the injury to Stegen to derail momentum.

Speaking about his compatriot’s situation after the Villarreal clash, he said: “We are all sad, because I think the injury will be huge. I’m really sad about this. At this point, we are not happy but it’s football, we have to accept this.

“At half-time, I said to the team, ‘come on, we play for Marc, give an extra 10 percent if possible’ and I think we had a great second half. It’s not easy, it was an accident, but it’s very tough.”