Arsenal Football Club finally announced the arrival of Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech yesterday, and it could be one of the best summer signings we are likely to see this year.
The Gunners and The Blues agreed on a fee of £10.9million and Cech agreed to a four-year deal worth £100k-a-week, making him Arsenal‘s highest ever paid goalkeeper, toppling David Seaman and Jens Lehmann.
Arsenal have been in the market for a new ‘keeper after Arsene Wenger lost trust in his current choices.
Wojciech Szczesny was dropped after a disastrous game against Southampton in January, which was then followed by off-the-pitch incidents including smoking in the showers after the match.
Whilst stand-in goalkeeper David Ospina also failed to impress Wenger despite his performances from January until the end of the season.
It’s widely reported that the Colombian will now leave the Emirates Stadium despite arriving just a year ago. It’s believed he will join Turkish side Fenerbache, or French side Marseille, with both clubs interested.
So why is Cech potentially one of the best deals we are likely to see this summer? Well lets take a look at our five reasons behind why Cech is such a massive deal for Arsenal FC.
Signing an experienced goalkeeper could be vital for any team. To have the trust in your ‘keeper is crucial and Arsenal’s defenders will certainly feel safer with Cech behind them.
The 33-year-old has made well over 300 Premier League appearances during his 11-years in England and he is familiar with every club, every ground and every player in the league and that is one major boost for The Gunners.
For the past few seasons, Arsenal have had to rely on Wojciech Szczesny and although he has the ability, his age and his immaturity has cost the club on several occasions.
Cech will have a massive impact on the pitch for Arsenal, but he also will off it, especially for the Polish shot-stopper.
Arsenal finished 12 points off Chelsea last season, but according to John Terry, that deficit could vanish next season just because of Petr Cech joining The Gunners.
When Terry was asked about Cech potentially leaving and joining their London rivals, he admitted that it would be a huge loss for The Blues and it would also be a huge signing for their competitors.
Terry believes Cech is capable of winning a club at least 12-15 points a season, meaning Arsenal could topple Jose Mourinho’s side just with the addition of the experienced goalkeeper.
A lot of people have said £10.9m is a lot of money for a 33-year-old, and if Cech was an outfielder, you would have to agree with that assessment.
However, he’s not. He’s a goalkeeper, and these days, ‘keepers can go until they are 40.
Cech is only 33. Arsenal signed Jens Lehmann for the first time at 33 and look what he won. Manchester United signed Edwin Van Der Saar at 35 and look how successful he was.
The Gunners could easily get four years out of the Czech international and in this day an age, it’s likely that they could get even more years out of the shot-stopper.
Everyone saw how the players reacted to the arrivals of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, and Petr Cech’s arrival is going to have the same desired effect.
All the Arsenal stars were out in force yesterday on Facebook or Twitter, posting their delight at Cech joining the club and that is what will boost The Gunners and the mood in the camp.
When a club signs a new player, and when it’s a recognised star like Ozil, Alexis or Cech, the whole dressing room lifts and the morale is boosted massively.
Arsene Wenger will have a very excited bunch of players come pre-season and that’s what new signings can do for you as a club.
Now we mentioned earlier he’s a match winner because of the points he can save during games, but here we are just going to focus on his mentality.
He’s a natural born winner.
Cech has won basically everything you can win at club level. He’s lifted the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Capital One Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League.
His attitude and his experience of winning things will spread across the whole Arsenal squad and will help them push on ahead of next season.
If Arsenal had Cech last season, you would probably say the loss to AS Monaco would not have happened just because of the natural winner at the back.
When you add someone who’s won it all into your club, it’s only going to have a positive effect.