Wojciech Szczesny returns to AS Roma on loan

Arsenal have loaned goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to AS Roma for a second straight season. Szczesny, whose last game for the club was the 4-0 FA Cup final win over Aston Villa, made 34 league appearances for Roma last season, as the club finished third, qualifying for the Champions League play-off round.

Szczesny will face competition from Alisson, who was signed by Roma in February, and joins as Brazil’s first-choice keeper, despite a horrendous error against Ecuador in the Copa America.

This leaves David Ospina as Arsenal’s second-choice keeper. Ospina most notably cost Arsenal last season when he dropped a corner into his own net as Arsenal lost 3-2 to Olympiakos, and he was unsteady in Petr Cech’s absence in the 3-3 draw against West Ham and 2-2 draw with Tottenham. There is little point going over Ospina’s faults at this stage, other than his habit of standing behind the goal-line to make saves is rather bizarre.

Barring any other moves, Emi Martinez will compete with Ospina for the #2 spot, and given Martinez’s past form at the club, it is not unreasonable that he surpasses the Colombian this coming season.