Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny: I beat Manchester United's Wayne Rooney in a battle of wits

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has taken credit for the penalty miss by Manchester United's Wayne Rooney in the recent meeting between the two sides. Park Ji-sung had given the hosts the lead during the first-half, and the former Everton marksman was presented the opportunity to double the advantage from the spot in the second period.

However, the actual shot went awry as the 25-year-old ballooned the ball over the bar. And the Polish sho-stopper believes it was a mental battle in which he beat the England international. "I did prepare myself for a Rooney penalty before the game," Szczesny said, according to The Mirror. "I actually decided to try to delay him, show him my presence and hope for the best.

"Maybe my presence put him off and made him miss it. "It's obviously a mental battle between the goalkeeper and the striker, a psychological battle, so I tried him and stand off my line for as long as possible, until the referee put me on the line. Then I made myself big and he missed. "People were congratulating me for the saves in the second half but I don't think they were fantastic stops.

"Anderson pretty much hit it straight at my chest because I was in the right position at the right time and the second one, I don't think Rooney connected very well. I was a little bit scared when he took it on but if it had been a little bit higher, as he was trying to do, I maybe wouldn't have got it."