Arsenal’s Investment In Petr Cech Already Repaid

Arsenal’s goalkeeper Petr Cech performed brilliantly against Stoke City and earned the Gunners their first positive result at the Britannia in years.

When Petr Cech joined up with his new team mates in North London in the summer of 2015, Arsenal fans knew that their team was not only acquiring a Premier League title winner, but they were also getting an experienced goalkeeper who could communicate with his back line – far better than their previous No. 1, David Ospina.

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In Arsenal’s most recent fixture, a second 0-0 draw of the 2015/16 Season against Stoke City at The Britannia stadium, Cech proved exactly that. The veteran shot-stopper saved five shots, far from his highest season total, and made a crucial double save to stop the Potters from going 1-0 up.

That performance against Stoke at the weekend earned him the Man of the Match award, the second such award Cech has earned in 2015/16. The first of these Man of the Match awards he received came after Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool at the beginning of the season.

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Okay, so it’s not that surprising Petr Cech makes Arsenal better defensively. Compared to the 25 goals the Gunners had conceded in the Premier League through January 18, 2015, the 2015/16 side has only conceded 21. Those goals not going in has translated into points, too. The Gunners sit on 44 points after 22 match days this season, which is a Premier League best. After match day 22 in 2014/15, they had only 39 points.

Cech has also kept more clean sheets in his first 22 Premier League matches than either of his predecessors did at Arsenal during their time between the sticks. Cech has 10 clean sheets so far this season, meaning that he only concedes a goal in 54 percent of his matches – that statistic is the lowest among Premier League goalies this season.

Not only has Cech pushed his team forward with his individual contribution, he has raised the game of the defenders in front of him.

Part of a goalkeeper’s role is to make sure his defenders have their desired roles, and that they remain orderly while the opposition has the ball. Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker have appeared the most in defense for the Gunners in the past two seasons – both of them have raised their game.

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Mertesacker is the covering center back in this defensive pairing. The German attempts the most duels per game of the Arsenal defenders. In the past, Mertesacker has been criticized for not being composed in the challenge and allowing himself to be outmuscled. Thanks to Cech’s arrival, he now looks calmer in the challenge.

Mertesacker has won 7% of his duels more than he did last season, (72% compared to 65% in 2014/15), and he has also won 1.12 tackles per game in 2015/16, 0.6 more than 0.59 per game in 2014/15.

Laurent Koscielny has been a consistent defender for Arsenal in the past few years. One flaw that has been pointed out in the past is his rashness at when making challenges, and his tendency to pick up untimely bookings.

Compared to 0.15 yellow cards per game in 2014/15, he has reduced his discipline numbers to just 0.05 yellows per game in 2015/16, a total of just one yellow card. Adding to that, he has won the same number of his duels – 0.9% more, actually – than he did last season, proving that he has continued to be strong in defense while remaining more composed.

Thirdly, his Squawka defensive score – an attribute that takes into account all types of playing defense from tackling to clearances and discipline – has increased from 22.5 to 24.5 from 2014/15 to 2015/16.

Petr Cech’s impact on Arsenal’s defense’s composure is plain to see, but it is matches like the one against Stoke that we see why he is so valuable. Prior to Sunday, the Gunners had not taken any points from four fixtures away at Stoke. The first game with Cech in the side, they overcame that.

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Don’t get your expectations all the way up just yet, but it is statistics like these that make one think this might be Arsenal’s year.