Published: 10 April, 2014
by STEVE BARNETT

WOJCIECH Szczesny believes that the Arsenal squad has “matured a lot” since their last appearance at Wembley three years ago.

The Polish shot-stopper is expected to hand over his gloves to compatriot Lukasz Fabianski on Saturday when the Gunners take on Wigan in the final four of the FA Cup.

Szczesny will be itching to play some part in the semi-final showdown, however, as he looks to put past demons at the home of football firmly behind him.

When he last played at Wembley back in 2011 a mix-up with Laurent Koscielny in the final seconds of the match gifted Obafemi Martins a last-gasp winner as Birmingham beat Arsenal 2-1 to capture the League Cup.

The goalkeeper is confident that it will be a different experience this time around.

“It’s huge. We know that we’re in a very strong position to win the FA Cup this year, and we’re two games away from doing so,” he told Arsenal Player.

“We’re at Wembley so we know how important it is for the fans and all the players. I hope it’s going to be a very positive day for the club.

“We had a very bad experience at Wembley in the League Cup final. But we’ve matured a lot since then and we’ve got a lot more experienced players.

“Also I think that the likes of Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and myself were only 18 or 19 at the time.

“We’re three years older now, we’ve got three years of experience under our belt and now we’re more prepared for it.”

Meanwhile Koscielny may have to settle for a place alongside Szczesny on the bench as he continues to struggle with a calf injury.