As Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski sat down to talk through all things Arsenal, the figure of ex-Ireland international and former Arsenal goalkeeping coach Gerry Peyton looms large.
Born in Birmingham, Peyton earned 33-caps for the Republic of Ireland in a playing career primarily spent with Fulham and Bournemouth.
Drafted in as a goalkeeping coach by Arsene Wenger in 2003, Peyton had been in that position up until the moment the Frenchman left the club at the end of last season.
If the testimonies of the two Polish 'keepers drafted in during Wenger are anything to go by, however, one would be left wondering how Gerry Peyton remained in place as long as he did.
Asked to sum up the approach of Peyton, Fabianski was left a little dumbfounded; "I don't know what he was."
Detailing some of his first-hand experiences with the goalkeeping coach, Szczesny drew on a curious example of Peyton's approach.
Let me give you an example. A delicate one, but it's one of these. First you laugh and then you are like, 'I'm playing for Arsenal, and I hear stuff like that.'
Before a Chelsea game, I hear this, 'Watch out, Hazard, when shooting penalties tries to shoot to the corner opposite to the one you dive.
That's funny, but then you analyse it and say, 'Holy shit, he was for real.'
Chiming in his own penalty-related anecdote, Fabianski's experience with Peyton's pre-match tips were no less bizarre.
"Talking about analysing penalties," the West Ham keeper begins to reveal Peyton's message to him.
"He hits here, or here, but the best way is to go with your gut feeling. Meaning, we analyse the stuff, but do what you want."
A pretty cavalier approach to coaching the goalkeepers of a Premier League club, both men seem pretty glad to have the experience behind them.
Video courtesy of Reddit user Kozajsza
