Wojciech Szczesny has been made a scapegoat by Arsene Wenger, blasts Arsenal keeper's father

Wojciech Szczesny's father has hit out at Arsene Wenger for his handling of the young Arsenal goalkeeper.

Szczesny was left out of the Gunners side for the Champions League clash against Bayern Munich last week and Saturday's win over Swansea, with Wenger claiming the 22-year-old had been "mentally affected" by the number of games he has played.

But Maciej Szczesny - who won seven caps for Poland and helped Legia Warsaw reach the quarter-finals of the 1995-96 Champions League - feels his son has been made a 'scapegoat' for the club's disappointing form in recent months.

In an interview with Poland's leading sport daily paper Przeglad Sportowy, the senior Szczesny said: "Wenger already started to look for the scapegoat. It is not the way the boss should behave.

"Wojciech has had two serious injuries. He played with one in April and May [last year]. He shouldn't have agreed to play that time, but the coach insisted.

"Wojciech did not train the whole week and then a warm up on Friday and played the match on Saturday. He was naturally more susceptible to minor injuries and his form was going down.

"Wenger was playing with the young man's good health and Wojciech agreed foolishly. In my opinion Mr Wenger messed up a lot in April and May. I don't blame the young man who went along with his coach, his current lack of form is a result of those two months.

"Then in August there was a foot [ankle] injury after which he played almost instantly. After seven weeks out Wojciech trained for just seven days and played the match. How on earth can he be on his highest form?"

Wenger has insisted Szczesny is still part of his long-term plans, having brought the youngster through the Arsenal academy after signing from hometown side Legia Warsaw in 2006.

And Szczesny Snr is confident his son will soon establish himself as the north London club's number one again.

"This last period has not been successful for Wojciech, the fact that Arsene Wenger did not take him to Munich shows something," Maciej Szczesny added.

"However, I think my son can be the number one [Arsenal] keeper over 10 years, he just needs to come back to form and then a situation where we can stop to wonder who will stand between the posts."