Goal.com

Join Goal.com in saluting another player worthy of global recognition

Welcome to Goal.com's regular feature: Goal.com World Player of the Week. Each week our worldwide team of editors will put forward a selected candidate, as chosen by Goal.com International, who deserves recognition for achieving something special that matchday. It won't necessarily be the best player in the world - at least not usually - but whoever we nominate will have accomplished something amazing. It might be for a particularly awesome performance or for something praiseworthy off the pitch - either way, the person in question deserves special attention...

Goal.com World Player of the Week #146: Wojciech Szczesny
Club: Arsenal
Country: Poland
Age: 21
Role: Goalkeeper
Achievement: Gave stunning performances for Poland and Arsenal

Wojciech Szczesny had a brilliant and productive couple of games over the past week, putting in a scintillating display for both club and country.

In midweek, the 21-year-old shot-stopper stood strong between the posts for Poland in their goalless draw with Portugal in a friendly international, making a number of saves especially in the first half.

Then at the weekend, Szczesny played a crucial role in Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League. Once again he made numerous stops in the first period, preventing Dirk Kuyt from scoring a penalty and kept out the subsequent attempt from the rebound.

Congratulations to Wojciech Szczesny, Goal.com's 146th World Player of the Week!



Honourable Mentions

Ashkan Dejagah - Iran

Ashkan Dejagah scored two goals on his national team debut for Iran in their 2-2 draw with Qatar. He has long been linked with Team Melli, having been a Germany youth international, and he finally made his debut. He also played an hour in Wolfsburg's goalless draw with Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Clint Dempsey - Fulham & USA

Clint Dempsey scored the only goal in the USA’s first ever triumph over Italy last week, as the Americans carved out a 1-0 victory in a friendly international in Genova. Then at the weekend he bagged a brace in Fulham’s 5-0 demolition of Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League.

Gary Twigg - Shamrock Rovers

In the Republic of Ireland, Gary Twigg scored twice for Shamrock Rovers as the Premier Division champions began the defence of their title with a 2-1 win at Drogheda United.

Lee Dong-Gook - Jeonbuk Motors & South Korea

Lee Dong-Gook scored the opening goal for South Korea in their crucial 2-0 win over Kuwait. Korea needed to avoid defeat to progress to the final round of the World Cup qualifiers and it had been a tense goalless first-half before he struck early in the second period. Then on the weekend, Lee scored a brace for Jeonbuk Motors in their 3-2 win against Seongnam Ilhwa to break the K-League goalscoring record with 117 goals.

Miroslav Stoch - Fenerbahce & Slovakia

Miroslav Stoch netted three goals in two matches in the past week. He was on target for Slovakia in their 2-1 defeat of Turkey in a friendl , and scored twice in Fenerbahce’s 6-1 victory over Genclerbirligi.

Robin van Persie - Arsenal & Netherlands

Robin van Persie failed to make his mark in Netherlands’ 3-2 victory over England in last week’s international friendly, but he was back on song for Arsenal at the weekend. The Dutchman scored both goals in the Gunners’ 2-1 victory at Liverpool in the Premier League, his winner coming via a stunning volley in stoppage time.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic - AC Milan & Sweden

Zlatan Ibrahimovic had missed AC Milan’s last three Serie A games because of suspension but made his comeback in stunning fashion at the weekend. The Sweden international scored a brilliant hat-trick against Palermo in their 4-0 victory, his third an exquisite curler from outside the penalty area. Ibrahimovic was also on target for Sweden from the penalty spot in their 3-1 away win against Croatia in last week's friendly.

Leave your notes of congratulations for Wojciech Szczesny below, or discuss who else deserves a place in the spotlight this week...