A former Arsenal star made a public apology to the club during his time with the Gunners
Jake Bayliss
10:00, 12 Feb 2026
Wojciech Szczesny celebrates winning the FA Cup with Arsenal teammates
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A former Arsenal star apologised for his dad's comments about the club(Image: Stuart MacFarlane, Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Wojciech Szczesny found himself apologising to Arsenal and Arsene Wenger following controversial remarks made by his father during his spell at the club. The Polish shot-stopper arrived at the Gunners as a youngster and impressed during a loan period at Brentford, who are Arsenal's opponents on Thursday, before breaking into the side.
After competing for the number one jersey throughout 2010/11, Szczesny secured his place as the club's first-choice goalkeeper for the next few seasons. His chosen position mirrored that of his father Maciej, a former goalkeeper who represented Poland on seven occasions.
Yet Wojciech was compelled to apologise to Wenger after Maciej publicly accused the Arsenal manager of unfairly targeting his son. The criticism emerged following Wojciech's omission from matches against Bayern Munich and Swansea City in March 2013.
"Wenger's already started to look for the scapegoat," Maciej said. "It is not the way the boss should behave. Wojciech has had two serious injuries. He played with one in April and May (last year). He shouldn't have agreed to play at that time, but the coach insisted."
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He continued: "In my opinion Mr Wenger messed up a lot in April and May. I don't blame the young man who went along with his coach. His current lack of form is a result of those two months."
However, the Arsenal goalkeeper was swift to disassociate himself from his father's remarks. The stopper was keen to refute any suggestion that he was unhappy at the club and made it clear that he disagrred with his dad.
"I would like to apologise for the comments made by my father," Wojciech said. "I'd like to make it clear those were the views of my father and not mine."
He added: "Although I respect his views, I cannot accept them as I find them disrespectful to the club I truly love. I have been at Arsenal Football Club for seven years now and I have always shown my full respect to the club, Arsene Wenger, all the coaching staff, my team-mates and the fans.
Wojciech Szczesny defended his relationship with Arsene Wenger
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Szczesny defended his relationship with Arsene Wenger(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
"I've always felt I received great support from the manager and the fans and I am fully focused on getting back to my best. I am proud to be a part of Arsenal and I see my future at this great club."
Despite his efforts to defuse the controversy, Szczesny later admitted that he hadn't spoken to his father for two years when Maciej publicly criticised the club once more. His son had been dropped following a 2-0 loss at Southampton in January and was reportedly sanctioned for smoking in the changing room showers.
"Mr Wenger is simply not loyal to people," Maciej wrote in a blog. "He does not always keep his word and is not honest. Wenger claims there is a cigarette ash on his suit jacket whereas in fact it's his own dandruff."
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Maciej Szczesny
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Maciej Szczesny made his feelings clear about Arsene Wenger's treatment of his son(Image: Marcin Golba/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
He added: "In this situation, let him [Szczesny] depart, but only for a stronger team where he will compete with similar goals as Arsenal. He cannot go to Swansea like [Lukasz] Fabianski just to play, but to somewhere where he will be appreciated and not fall below a reputation which over the years has earned in London".
In an extraordinary twist, Wojciech slammed his father's comments the day before Arsenal's 2015 FA Cup final clash with Aston Villa. Despite being locked in competition with David Ospina for a place in Arsenal's starting XI, the goalkeeper was again forced to address his dad's comments.
"Really shouldn't be dealing with this one day before the cup final but my father leaves me no choice," Szczesny posted on social media. "I have not spoken to him in more than two years and just like everybody else I have had enough of his idiotic comments about The Football Club and The Manager I owe so much to!
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"Therefore please do not consider his comments as my shared view. Thank You for your understanding!"
Szczesny featured 181 times for the Gunners before spending two seasons on loan at Roma, ultimately securing a permanent switch to Juventus in 2017. The 35-year-old briefly retired before returning to action with Barcelona in October 2024.