Wojciech Szczesny may have left Arsenal seven years ago but remains a clear fan favorite at the Emirates.
The 34-year-old graduated from the club’s famous Hale End academy, where he made 181 appearances and won two FA Cups.
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His breakthrough came in the 2010/11 season when he took advantage of injuries to Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski and established himself as the Gunners’ No. 1.
And despite being partly responsible for Obafemi Martins’ dramatic winner in the League Cup final in February 2011, he quickly endeared himself to Arsenal fans.
Szczesny, who recently joined Barcelona on a contract until the end of the season, twice flattened Gareth Bale – much to the Gooners’ delight.
His first north London derby against Tottenham came in April 2011 and he certainly left a lasting impression – both on the fans and on Bale.
Both incidents involving the two players occurred in the first half of the six-goal thriller at White Hart Lane, which ended 3-3.
The first duel came in the 37th minute when Bale tried to catch a ball that had bounced in the penalty area – but Szczesny came out and took the ball.
But in doing so he left Bale on the ground after making contact with the Welshman as he jumped high over him before accidentally hitting his head with his elbow after landing on the striker.
This forced a delay in the stoppage of play as the winger required medical attention, which he would also need shortly before half-time.
In the second incident – which will live long in the memories of Arsenal fans – Szczesny reacted brilliantly and prevented Bale from releasing a pass.
Rafael van der Vaart, who scored twice in the encounter to salvage a point for Spurs, slotted the ball past Arsenal right-back Bacary Sagna and into the goal.
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Szczesny sensed danger like lightning and sprinted to deflect the ball for a throw-in just as Bale tried to shoot it – completely eliminating him in the process.
After the clash, Bale somersaulted over the Poland international, causing him to land on his head, prompting strong appeals from Spurs fans for a penalty.
Knowing he had the ball, Szczesny calmly walked back to his goal, where he gave his teammate Johan Djourou a wry smile and a cheeky wink.
It was the moment that made him an Arsenal cult hero.
While Szczesny was accidentally beaten by Bale as the duo tried to win the ball, the latter was second best.
For the second time in less than ten minutes, Spurs paramedics were on the pitch to attend to the former Southampton star.
A stretcher was even used, but Bale was able to walk away carefully after the half-time whistle.
However, he failed to defend the lead in the second half in what was typically a classic end-to-end North London derby for Arsenal.
After angering Spurs supporters following his heated clashes with Bale, Szczesny began making this a regular occurrence by breaking them up on social media.
After Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Tottenham in September 2013, he shared a video of himself playing the piano to the tune “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
The tune is used for Spurs’ famous chant, with Arsenal fans having their own version referencing their two league title wins on opposition soil.
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Even during his loan spell at Roma in 2016, he mocked Spurs after they lost 5-1 at Newcastle on the final day of the season, sending Arsenal relegating them to second place.
This marked the 21st consecutive year that Arsenal finished better than their league rivals.
This time, Szczesny uploaded a video of himself singing and chanted: “It’s happened again, it’s happened again, Tottenham Hotspur, it’s happened again.”
Even after his final departure from Arsenal for Juventus in 2017, he couldn’t help but make fun of Tottenham.
After the Old Lady knocked Spurs out of the Champions League in 2018, he waved to fans to “keep their heads up” before posting on X: “North London is Red”.
Even though Szczesny never reached his full potential at Arsenal, he will forever be fondly remembered.
And he is living proof that you can take the man out of Arsenal, but you can never take Arsenal out of the man.