It is reportedly going to cost Arsenal around £11m to secure the services of Petr Cech. In today’s overinflated market, where Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling are valued at the £50m mark, the Gunners’ capture of the vastly experienced keeper represents something of a coup. Despite warming the bench for much of last season for Chelsea, the 33-year-old is still - to some - one of the top five goalkeepers in football.
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"If they do get him, he will strengthen them for sure. He will save them 12 or 15 points a season," Chelsea captain John Terry said of his soon-to-be former teammate. Indeed, of all goalkeepers to make at least 5 appearances in the Premier League last season, it’s David Ospina (81%) who had the best save success rate, with Cech (80%) running him a close second.
Arsene Wenger may have himself a sturdy shot-stopper in between the sticks in Ospina, but in the Czech Republic international; the French manager would boast as solid a last line of defence as they come.
Some Chelsea fans are of the opinion that Cech should have retained his number one spot last season, with Thibaut Courtois his understudy for another campaign. A save success rate of 71.8% was by no means a meagre return though some may have expected better from the Belgian given his standing as one of football’s highest rated goalkeepers.
Nevertheless, Chelsea’s loss on Cech is certainly set to be Arsenal’s gain. The arrival of the former Rennes shot stopper all but paves the way for Ospina to depart for pastures new. The Colombia international now looks set to complete his move to Fenerbahce in the coming days, leaving Wojciech Szczesny to battle it out for a regular starting berth at the Emirates with Cech.
The Poland international lost his number one spot at the club after a horrendous showing in the 2-0 defeat at Southampton on New Year’s Day. Szczesny’s WhoScored rating that day (4.70) ranks among the worst of all starting performances in England’s top tier last term, reinforcing Wenger’s decision to drop the 25-year-old in favour of Ospina. However, the Colombia international’s promotion to a starting spot seems to have merely been seen as a temporary solution to a permanent problem.
Ospina’s reflexes are one of his biggest strengths, but his erratic behaviour when coming to claim crosses almost cost Arsenal on a number of occasions. Cech, on the other hand, can be viewed as a calming influence in this regard. Over the last 6 Premier League seasons, only Asmir Begovic (327) and Tim Howard (316) have successfully claimed more crosses than Cech (296).
Comparatively, Szczesny caught just 167 crosses over the same period. When up against Arsenal, teams have been prone to adopting a more physical approach in order to unsettle the Gunners defence, which has reaped the benefits in the past.
With Cech in goal, though, teams will now have to rethink their strategies in order to get the better of the north London outfit. His command of the area will help solidify the defence, which will resonate throughout the team, benefitting those in front of him. The same, though, cannot be said of Szczesny, who has proven in the past how shaky a performer he can be between the sticks.
The Poland international was also one of only three players to commit 2 errors that led to an opposition goal in the same match, coming in the aforementioned defeat against Southampton. At 25 years of age, however, there is room to improve and the hope is that, with Cech coming in, he can now mentor Szczesny, who to some is still viewed as Arsenal’s long-term number one.
Until then, though, Cech is certainly a more than capable custodian of the goalkeeping starting spot. In the last 6 Premier League seasons, only Joe Hart (90) has kept more clean sheets than Cech (76), which is significantly higher than Szczesny (48). One would imagine that figure would have been higher had the Czech Republic star not been forced to play second fiddle to Courtois at Stamford Bridge last season.
Nevertheless, it adds weight to Wenger’s decision to add Cech to the Arsenal ranks. To put it bluntly, the goalkeeper is an upgrade on the personnel the Gunners boss has at his disposal.
Part of the reason for Cech’s success at Chelsea could be attributed to the Blues’ solid defence, but then he was certainly a reliable performer when called on. Goalkeepers are required to be ready at any given opportunity to deny the opposition, which he is clearly able to do, highlighted in that he has gained a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘concentration’.
Only Manchester United, Southampton (both 10.1) and Manchester City (10.2) conceded fewer shots per game than Arsenal (10.7) in the Premier League last season, so this attribute of Cech’s will likely be needed once again in the upcoming campaign as and when his move to north London is complete.
Ospina and Szczesny may be solid shotstoppers in their own right, but it’s fair to say they are not of the same calibre as Cech. He will certainly improve Arsenal at the back and given their offensive qualities, this can only help the Gunners in their bid to secure their first Premier League title since 2004. The impending capture of Cech sends out a strong message to Arsenal’s rivals, of that there is no doubt.
Some may feel Terry is over exaggerating when he says Cech can win a team "12 or 15" points, but that is just how highly revered he is by his peers. The goalkeeper position has long been viewed as a weakness by some Arsenal fans, but the signing of the Czech star would mean that the man between their posts is one of the Gunners’ strongest assets.
