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Why Arsenal should sign Petr Cech
Many have been saying on Pain in the Arsenal that Petr Cech is not needed. Since this is my first article, I thought I’d be controversial and disagree with the majority of opinions on the site (that’s why the site is called FanSided after all). Petr Cech would be a fantastic signing, if Arsene Wenger could pull it off.
Currently in the squad Arsenal have David Ospina and Wojech Szczesny vying for the starting role. Both are solid, if not inconsistent options. Szczesny has held down the starting role for the past couple of seasons with relative success. However, he does have many issues that must be sorted. First off, Szczesny, like many Arsenal keepers in recent years, has major mental lapses in games. These often include rushing way out of his box in a poor attempt to impersonate Manuel Neuer.
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Secondly, Szczesny struggles against physical teams in fielding crosses and corners. This, in English football, is a major issue. For a team like Arsenal with smaller players, a goalkeeper who commands their area is imperative. Unfortunately, Arsenal have not, and still don’t have (I’ll touch on this later), this type of keeper. Szczesny is the No. 2 for now and will look to challenge Ospina throughout pre-season for the starting role, but his mental frailty and lack of physicality from crosses will always be a weakness in his game.
It is, however, not all doom and gloom for Arsenal’s current No. 2. He is still very young for a goalkeeper at 25 years of age, and has a lot of time to grow into the world class player that he can become. Szczesny does have many talents at his disposal as well. He is an excellent shot stopper, as most keepers are these days, and does have a lot of experience at such a young age. However, time is running out for the young Pole to show real improvement, and Wenger, although renowned for showing great loyalty to his players, may grow tired.
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The current No. 1 for Arsenal is David Ospina. The Colombian ousted Szczesny after a poor performance against Southampton and never gave up his starting spot. Ospina is an outstanding shot stopper. His save to goal ratio is excellent, as has been so eloquently discussed here. Ospina came into a struggling defence and produced 8 clean sheets in 18 games. In comparison to fellow top keepers in the premier league, Ospina has the highest clean sheets to game ratio at 0.44 clean sheets per game. Clearly this stat is skewed by the abilities of the defence in front of the keeper, but it does suggest that Ospina is a very good goalkeeper.
So, why would Arsenal need Petr Cech?
Arsenal’s targets in the coming seasons should be to win the league. Looking over the history books, very rarely does a team win the league with a sub standard goal keeper. Recently Thibault Courtois, David De Gea and Joe Hart have been victorious and before that Edwin Van Der Sar and Cech himself traded titles. For Arsenal to win the league, a consistent, top quality keeper is needed. David Ospina is a very good keeper, but he is not a consistent, top quality keeper.
A top quality goalkeeper instills confidence in their defenders. When defending corners, if a keeper comes out for a cross it is crucial that all of the defenders expect and are confident that the keeper will claim the ball. This confidence allows the team to defend as a solid unit (If you don’t believe me look at Chelsea under Mourinho in both stints).
“The top class goalkeeper that Arsenal need to propel them towards challenging for the premier league title is found in Petr Cech.”
David Ospina does not instill confidence in me. That does not mean that Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny are not confident in Ospina’s ability, but there is doubt in this aspect of his game. The goal conceded on the last day of the season against West Brom is a prime example of Ospina’s issues in claiming crosses. Ospina now is similar to David De Gea when he first entered the league; an excellent shot stopper but a lack of authority in and around the penalty area. De Gea is now the best keeper in the league, so it is possible for Ospina to develop into a world class talent, but he is not that talent yet. He is, therefore, not a top quality goalkeeper of Cech or Courtois’ class.
The top class goalkeeper that Arsenal need to propel them towards challenging for the premier league title is found in Petr Cech. Petr Cech is consistently linked with Arsenal since Courtois has overtaken him as Chelsea’s No. 1, and he would be a fantastic acquisition. The key stumbling block for this move to take place is most likely Mourinho’s reluctance to sell to a rival (as the Guardian reports). Another issue will be with Wenger’s reluctance to splash the cash on an aging player. It will require a big cheque to sign the big Czech, possibly in the region of £20 million which is a lot for a goal keeper.
However, if these hurdles can be overcome, and Wenger is willing to pursue Petr Cech, he would be a world class signing. Here’s hoping that Wenger is able to pull off this highly unlikely signing and push Arsenal on towards challenging for the premier league title again.
Next: Olivier Giroud must learn to be ruthless