Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny fined £20,000 after being caught smoking in the showers

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has reportedly been fined £20,000 after he was caught smoking in the showers following the disappointing New Year's day loss to Southampton.

According to the Mirror, the Polish stopper, who had a dismal performance against the Saints, lit up in the showers and that infuriated Arsene Wenger, who has slapped a fine on his player.

Szczesny was the culprit for both the goals conceded by Arsenal during the game and that did not help matters when he was caught puffing away in the showers.

The French manager was clearly upset with his goalkeeper as he refused to discuss him during the post match press conference and said: "I don't want to talk about [him]," when asked about Szczesny.

The Poland international was dropped for the visit of Hull City for an FA Cup clash on Sunday, but that was understood as Wenger normally likes to give his second choice keepers a run in the domestic cup competitions. It remains to be seen if the manager extends the punishment for the visit of Stoke City this weekend.

The report claims that Arsenal have denied earlier claims made by former Gunner midfielder John Jensen regarding a dressing room row involving Szczesny, which was supposed to have led to him being dropped indefinitely.

It is a well known fact that Wenger does not encourage smoking among his players after openly condemning midfield star Jack Wilshere when he was caught smoking not once but twice in recent times.

But Szczesny smoking immediately after a game is what led to the manager fining him £20,000 as it was believed to be a much more serious offence than what Wilshere had committed in the past.