Cech has moved from West London to North
Petr Cech has revealed that a discussion with Arsene Wenger made him decide to join Arsenal from champions Chelsea.
The Czech Republic international was announced as an Arsenal player earlier this afternoon, costing the Gunners around £11 million.
The vastly experienced goalkeeper made over 400 appearances at Stamford Bridge, having joined Chelsea in the summer 0f 2004, from French club Rennes.
Cech is looking to help Arsenal recapture the Premier League title for the first time in 11 seasons, and feels his experience could help them achieve that.
Cech Reveals Wenger Talks
Cech told Arsenal Player: “I had a good chat with him and it was the first time after the club approached me that I could speak to him in private for such a long time.
“He made me believe that this was the right step and that this is the club with a lot of ambition.
“I have a lot of personal motivation and ambition and the club definitely matches it.
“It is an exciting time for me, it is a project where Arsenal fans and the club have been waiting for the Premier League title and this is a chance for me to bring my experience and my little extra to the team and we can possibly achieve that.”
He added: “In the first meeting we had, I spoke to the manager, Arsène Wenger, and obviously it was a big difference because I am as hungry as ever and have the same motivation and commitment to win trophies as I had 10 or 15 years ago and as a kid.
“Having spoken to him, I believe I will find a team that wants to be successful and wants to challenge the best in Europe. It is an exciting project for me.”
Since the return of Thibaut Courtois from Atletico Madrid last season, Cech became the number two goalkeeper at Stamford Bridge, making just seven appearances in Chelsea’s title winning campaign.
Despite this, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho spoke highly of Cech’s professionalism, but the 33 year old is now excited for the new challenge ahead.
He concluded: “To have an opportunity to continue in a team that has the motivation to challenge for the title and challenge the best teams was a challenge for me and I have to say that once I spoke to Arsène Wenger about the ambitions and motivations this club has, my decision was clear because I wanted to be a part of it.
By Joseph Richardson
