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Why Petr Cech Signing Proves that Arsenal Will Sign Karim Benzema

By Josh Sippie

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Arsenal are not known for big name signings. In the past two years, that has changed in the slightest, as Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have been brought on, and now Petr Cech as well, but Arsene Wenger has a history of making the most out of what he has, playing injury-roulette and hoping for the best.

However, we saw something in the Petr Cech signing that we have not seen Arsene Wenger do in quite some time – fixing what did not seem to be broken.

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David Ospina and Wojciech Szczesny are two No. 1 keepers. They have both shown that they have what it takes to be a quality EPL keeper. Ospina showed it by producing the second best saves-per-goal ratio in the world and notching a clean sheet every other game.

Szczesny proved it by bursting onto the scene as a youngster and working his way to a shared golden gloves in the 2013/14 season. He has excellent raw talent and he has started to hone his craft, despite a down year last year.

Then there is Damian Martinez, who Wenger had at one time referred to as one of his three world class keepers – prior to signing Cech. The Brazilian has a ton of potential and he is only 22 years old. Translating that from goalie years to regular people years, that makes him about 16 years old.

And yet, despite the three keeprs he had, Arsene Wenger grabbed Petr Cech to solve a problem that was not there. He did not stick with the two goalies he was raising and the budget goalie that rose to the occasion. He bought another and will deal with the consequences later. After all, adding a bonafide winner with invaluable experience will only benefit everyone involved.

So how does this pertain to Karim Benzema?

Depending on who you ask, Arsenal have somewhere between one and five viable striker options. Olivier Giroud is a proven No. 1 striker and you could argue that Theo Walcott is too. Chuba Akpom and Danny Welbeck both could rise to the occasion, but Szczesny and Ospina could have also, and Wenger did not want to wait and see how that panned out.

The striker situation is much the same as our goalie situation was. Olivier Giroud has proven that he can be a No. 1 striker, but he has also shown inconsistency and a knack for going cold, kind of like Wojciech Szczesny.

Theo Walcott is like David Ospina, he showed a supreme burst onto the scene in the second half last year, but it is yet up for debate if he can do that kind of thing all year (as a striker, that is).

Then there is Danny Welbeck and Chuba Akpom, both of whom have tremendous potential but no product as of yet. They are both like Damien Martinez in that they need time to develop.

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Karim Benzema is Petr Cech. He leaves no question marks. Benzema is a proven winner and he could solve a problem that is not necessarily there. There is a very good chance that Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck would be enough striking power for Arsenal next year, but there was also a good chance that Ospina and Szczesny would have been enough keeping prowess as well.

Arsene Wenger’s transfer policy has changed. He is keen on winning now and if he will sign Petr Cech, he will sign Karim Benzema.

Sources indicate that Wenger had a 31 million pound bid rejected by Real Madrid for Benzema’s services, but it is highly unlikely that that is the end of things. The Metro quotes Spanish journalist Kike Martin, who said that Wenger signing Benzema would be a long, drawn out process that could go on for quite some time.

It is not a transfer that Arsenal from just three or fours years ago would make. A big name player, and a striker to boot? No way. But it was just as unlikely that Arsenal would sign a big name keeper. This is a different Arsenal, one that is not shy about grabbing that “exceptional talent.”

Next: Can Danny Welbeck become a true CF?

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