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Szczesny: I must be vocal

Cape Town - Wojciech Szczesny believes goalkeepers have to be vocal to play at the top level - but they can't just shout for the sake of it.

The Poland international progressed through Arsenal’s youth academy and made his first-team debut at 19 before establishing himself as the club’s No 1 the following season.

Szczesny says he found it unnatural to order senior defenders around in his early days, but that has changed.

“You have extra responsibility as a goalkeeper,” he told Arsenal Player.

“You get older and more experienced but you get more respect from your team-mates the more you talk to them, even if sometimes you don’t talk to them in the right way.

“If you’re disappointed and you yell at your team-mates, they understand it. As a goalkeeper I didn’t quite get it when I was younger - I used to scream and then feel pretty bad about it.

“I always had a goalkeeping coach behind my goal so he would tell me what information to give because, as a young keeper, you don’t quite understand the tactics and you don’t want to be just screaming nonsense.

“At the very start, my ambition made me scream at people. They were much older than me - I was 19 when I came into the side and I had 30-year-old defenders, so it’s not a natural thing to do.

“You never see any of the team-mates talking back, even if you tell them off because that happens sometimes - as long as I do it in a respectful way I don’t find it difficult.”

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