What would Wojciech Szczesny do if he were Arsenal manager?

In an interview with Polish television, the 24-year-old revealed that he was so desperate to cure the Gunners' soft centre that he sold himself to Manchester United in a deal worth €23.1 million (£18.5m).

Arsene Wenger has often been criticised for not buying a defensive midfielder this season and Szczesny felt that his own side were calling out for more steel in the middle.

Having raised the funds, though, the Poland No.1 then backtracked and opted to sign Ibrahimovic instead – luckily he did not offer the Sweden international a trial, a gesture that saw Wenger miss out on the striker in real life.

When asked why David Ospina was starting for Arsenal on his game, the Pole replied: "In other words, I just sold Szczesny. [I sold him to] Manchester United, following in Tomasz Kuszczak's footsteps.

"They offered me £18.5m. I thought 'I'm going to buy a solid defensive midfielder with that'."

But the Arsenal keeper's plans changed when a certain PSG striker became available. "Look, Arsenal's new hero," he enthused. "Look who I bought: Ibrahimovic! I guess it was worth replacing Szczesny with Ibrahimovic."

Szczesny's decision to buy a striker instead of a defensive midfielder will strike a chord with Arsenal fans, with Wenger having opted to bolster his attack rather than his back line in the summer window - though he has promised to bring in defensive recruitments in January.

The Polish keeper has conceded 13 goals and kept just three clean sheets in 11 Premier League appearances this season, with Arsenal sitting in sixth place in the table – 12 points behind leaders Chelsea.