Szczesny: I'll grow my hair like Tomaszewski


'I'll grow my hair like legendary Tomaszewski if we get England at Euro 2012' says Arsenal's Wojciech Szczesny


Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has said that he will grow his hair long like legendary Polish 'keeper Jan Tomaszewski if his country are drawn with England in a group at next year's Euro 2012.

The draw for the final tournament is being made later this week, and Szczesny says it would be fantastic to play against England in his home country.

"The competition is massive because we are hosting it," Szczesny told the Daily Mirror. "The draw is big because we aren't the favourites and the draw will make a big impact on how we are going to do. I can't wait for the start.

"It would be fantastic to draw England. I told the lads I'm going to grow long hair if we draw England. You might remember the goalkeeper who played against England in 1973. You should all remember him."

The goalkeeper in question, Tomaszewski was infamously dubbed 'The Clown' by Brian Clough after he played a pivotal role in denying England a place at the 1974 World Cup with some heroic saves in a qualifier at Wembley.

"So I'll grow the long hair and try to do the job as well as he did," Szczesny added. "A headband would be ridiculous but I might wear it too. I might have to wear a wig because there won't be enough time to grow it!"

The Arsenal 'keeper also said that he didn't mind how Arsenal looked when they played either, as long as they continue getting good results.

"I think we've got more experienced players this season. We've got players like Mikel Arteta and Per [Mertesacker] who like to fight.

"Mikel played for Everton who play a different kind of football. Per's got plenty of international experience and we seem like we can come out on top of all the challenges.

"It's a little bit different but as long as it's effective we don't mind. I think the players that have come in are very creative as well.

"They make the difference in the final third. They are creative but they are different.

"Maybe they are not as beautiful in the way they play but it doesn't matter if you win the game. And we've been doing that over the last few weeks."