Arsenal: Do not overlook Petr Cech injury

Arsene Wenger has stated that Petr Cech will be ‘a little short’ for Thursday’s game against CSKA Moscow. The impact of his injury on this Arsenal team should not be overlooked.

Arsene Wenger has consistently stated throughout the past few seasons that he has two ‘world-class’ goalkeepers at his disposal and that he is trusting of both in any competition at any time. It is nice to see him have faith in his Arsenal players, but when it is a little blind and naive, like I believe it to be in this case, then it is somewhat unnerving.

Catch the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal podcast right here

The two players that he refers to, Petr Cech and David Ospina, have been employed a heavy rotation system in which, when fit, the former plays in all of the Premier League fixtures and the latter plays in all of the cup fixtures, including those on the European stage.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park

It is an approach that Wenger has taken for several seasons now. It is infuriating, as I have outlined in a number of other pieces prior to this one. There was, however, I believe, a chance that Wenger may have switched his goalkeepers for the remainder of this season.

With the Premier League clearly not a competition of importance now that the top four is gone, Wenger has slowly shifted his resources to the Europa League, a competition that offers a chance of both a trophy and a Champions League berth. I had wondered if he would continue to veer his resources to the Europa League by reversing the roles of Cech and Ospina.

However, with Cech carrying a slight injury, it seems as if Wenger’s hand has been forced somewhat. Here is what he had to say on the fitness of his starting goalkeeper after Sunday’s 3-0 win over Stoke City:

"“He’s better today. He will maybe go out for a little session now. I still think he will be short for Thursday.”"

That means that Ospina, not Cech, will start against CSKA Moscow. That makes me extremely nervous. While Ospina is a perfectly adequate goalkeeper, especially when it comes to simply stopping shots, there are moments of complacency and confusion that do not happen with a more assured, confident, and decisive goalkeeper.

His distribution, for instance, is risky and can put his teammates into troubling situations. His communication seems confusing and unclear. His positioning is questionable at times, as his decision-making, and he struggles to bring a command of his penalty area from crosses and set-pieces, evidenced on two separate occasions against Stoke on Sunday. He might actually be a better pure shot-stopper than Cech. But it all the other things that round-out a goalkeeper that he is lacking. Badly.

Next: Arsenal Vs Stoke City: Player ratings

And so, the news that Cech will miss Thursday’s game should not be overlooked. While there is a chance that he may not have started anyway, the fact that he is now certainly ruled it is troubling. I have little confidence in Ospina.