Like all things in reality, Lukasz Fabianski’s time at Arsenal has come to an end. After making 78 appearances, conceding 81 goals and notching up 25 clean sheets in seven seasons, his status as second fiddle to Manuel Almunia and afterwards his compatriot, Wojciech Szczesny, has made him jump ship to Swansea City with the hope of playing regular football being his priority.
It was glaring that he was leaving on borrowed time and when the club tabled a contract extension for him, I was very sure that he wasn’t going to sign the new deal. With the Pole’s time at Arsenal coming to an end, Gooner Daily has decided to relive those moments that made him stand out.. for the good reasons and the bad.
THE LOWS
Fabianski’s career at Arsenal had many low points and this convinced a lot of fans that he wasn’t cut out to make the No. 1 spot his. In no specific order, here are the games Fabianski was truly a “Flappy Handski”.
Blackburn 2 Arsenal 1 (May 2010)
Arsenal scored early on through a RVP near post strike from Bacary Sagna’s flick but Fabianski was directly involved in both goals conceded. For the first, he came for a corner and missed leaving David Dunn for a simple tap-in once Keith Andrews had returned the ball back across the six yard line. He conceded the second goal from another corner when his goalkeeping misjudgment allowed Chris Samba to head the ball in at point-blank range.
Wigan 3 Arsenal 2 (April 2010)
This is one game many Arsenal fans wouldn’t want to remember. Despite going two goals up, the Gunners somehow connived to throw the game away, but like the rest of the team, Fabianski played his own part in the 89th minute when he unfathomably spilled a routine catch from a corner on Titus Bramble’s head and the ball went in.
Arsenal 0 Newcastle 1 (November 2010)
Shortly before Andy Carroll grabbed all the headlines for being the British record transfer signing, he scored the only goal at the Emirates in a game marred by Laurent Koscielny’s red card. Fabianski allowed the big striker to leap higher than him to nod the ball home.
The Epic Howlers against FC Porto (February 2010)
The World’s Best Released Striker, Nicklas Bendtner, would be famously remembered for netting a hat-trick in the 5-0 drubbing of FC Porto at the Emirates but the proceedings in the first leg at Portugal left the fans bewildered and perplexed. Fabianski inexplicably parried a simple cross into his net when he was under no pressure whatsoever. If that was bad enough, the second goal made everyone stunned. He grabbed the ball from Sol Campbell and gave it to Radamel Falcao that wasted no time in side-footing the ball home.
Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1 (April 2009)
Chelsea under Guus Hiddink went on to win the FA Cup final against David Moyes’ Everton but in the semis at Wembley, Arsenal were the opposition that stood in their way. Theo Walcott had given the Gunners the lead before Florent Malouda equalized for the Blues. Late on, Didier Drogba was sent clean on goal and with Mikael Silvestre not having the pace to catch up with the Ivorian, Fabianski raced off his line and out of his box like a headless bull pretending to be a sweeper and was shimmed by the big man before he fired the ball to an unguarded net.
THE HIGHS
Lukasz Fabianski was an able deputy for the Gunners and he performed admirably in some games. Here’s Gooner Daily’s top five.
Partizan Belgrade 1 Arsenal 3 (September 2010)
With Almunia messing up against West Brom, Wenger handed the goalkeeping baton to Fabianski and he didn’t disappoint. One of his finest moments that campaign was his superb save from Cleo’s penalty which would have brought Partizan back into the game. The scream he let out was probably heard in the Moon.
Everton 1 Arsenal 2 (November 2010)
Arsenal got a rare opener from Bacary Sagna before Cesc Fabregas scored what proved to be the match winner but the undisputed Man of the Match was Fabianski, that made a lot of saves to put Everton at bay.
Wolves 0 Arsenal 2 (November 2010)
Undoubtedly Fabianski’s best outing in his Arsenal career. Marouane Chamakh socred at the first and last minute to hand Arsenal all three points but Fabianski was the hero of the night especially when he managed to prevent a draw with a last-minute save, and then initiating a counter-attack with a long throw of the ball that led to Chamakh’s match clincher.
Manchester City 0 Arsenal 3 (October 2010)
Arsenal got a rare victory over Manchester City with goals from Samir Nasri, Alex Song and Nicklas Bendtner but Fabianski was very dominant and made some top drawer saves.
Wigan 1 Arsenal 1 (April 2014)
With Fabianski’s status at the domestic Cup keeper confirmed, he played all the games in the Gunners run to the final but he was the deciding factor was the game was sent to the lottery of a penalty shootout.
Good luck to Fabianski, thanks for the contribution to our FA Cup win this season and I’m genuinely happy for him that his career is back on track properly, even if it is elsewhere. But whatever happens, I’m comfortable with Szczesny as our number 1 for next season. – Arseblog
Sayonara.
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