Surprise new Barcelona man Wojciech Szczesny admits he used to be terrified of facing Lionel Messi & Co. during Arsenal days

New Barcelona signing Wojciech Szczesny revealed he was terrified of facing Lionel Messi during his Arsenal days.

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• Szczesny feared playing against Messi
• Spent nine years at Arsenal
• Joined Barca on a short-term deal

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Szczesny came out of retirement to join the Catalan giants on a short-term deal as the club were looking to replace injured captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen. After signing for his new club, the Polish custodian revealed that he used to be terrified of facing Barca legend Lionel Messi while he was at Arsenal.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Szczesny played for nine years for the Gunners before moving to Italy as he briefly signed for AS Roma before joining Juventus where he spent the next seven seasons. He faced the Argentina captain on six occasions in his career, out of which he won once with the Premier League club in 2011 in a Champions League clash. Messi has scored thrice against the custodian while he has made quite a few memorable saves including stopping the 37-year-old's penalty at the 2022 World Cup.

• WHAT WOJCIECH SZCZESNY SAID

  Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, the 34-year-old said, "I was always scared to play against Leo. There are probably other players who have scored more against me. But he was the only one I was actually afraid to play against. Because he was that good."

  When asked about the most memorable save he made against the Argentine, the Barca star replied, "The best or the biggest? That changes. The most satisfying save was Messi's penalty in the Qatar World Cup, but it wasn't the best save in my career. The stadium and the rival made that moment very special for me."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR SZCZESNY?

  Blaugrana boss Hansi Flick recently revealed that the custodian still needs some more time to attain full fitness. Szczesny is currently working on his fitness in the ongoing international break and could expect to make his debut against Sevilla on Sunday.