Arsenal changed things up when the landed Petr Cech as their keeper back in 2015. After a bit of a lull, we can finally get back to why he’s here in the first place.
There has been significant doubt placed on Petr Cech’s continued viability between the sticks this year, as he has made some rather blatant mistakes that are so uncharacteristic of him. Arsenal have suffered because of it, but then again, he is far from the worst offender.
Cech was supposed to give us 12-15 more points a year, but that has proven to be a bit off as well, particularly after that first season. Some have questioned his age, others the fact that his defense is letting him down, but the end result is an ineffective set-up.
This was all compiled on by not one, but two evil monkey perched on Petr Cech’s back. One was his 199 clean sheets and the other was his bizarre inability to save a penalty.
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It feels like all season we have been waiting for either or both to come to pass and neither had. Cech hadn’t registered a clean sheet since December and he hadn’t saved a penalty since like, 1989, give or take.
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No matter your level of professionalism, that can take a tole on your mental preparation for any give match. The team was floundering around him and Cech was falling in line, bogged down by these two negative monkeys that just wouldn’t let him perform to his usual level.
It remains to be seen what will happen next, but Cech dispelling both monkeys in glorious fashion is most likely going to mean one big thing – that confidence can be restored in his abilities. Again, one match is one match, but stone-walling Troy Deeney to secure your 200th clean sheet has to be some next level stuff. Like, mental euphoria type stuff.
It’s all about confidence with these Arsenal players and Petr Cech gave himself the greatest dose of confidence available to him. Which is obviously fantastic, but going back to what happens next, that is the exciting part.
I’m not in the business of forecasting or excessive speculation, but I fully expect Cech to look different. I expect him to be more commanding at the back, more steady in his demeanor and far less prone to the bizarre mental gaffs that have plagued him.
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In short, I expect him to look like Petr Cech again, that that’s always been the end goal. Er, end save rather (Ha!).