Arsenal: Severing ties with Petr Cech a mistake not worth making

Arsenal’s goalkeeper situation needs resolving, but that doesn’t mean a complete uprooting. Petr Cech still has a purpose to serve, if he’ll serve it.

There has been a lot of talk of Arsenal completing uprooting certain parts of their team this summer – defense especially. I get where it comes from, this desire to see it all done away with, but realistically, it’s not feasible, nor necessary.

The same goes with the keeper situation. Petr Cech had a terrible year, with more mistakes than any goalkeeper of his caliber should ever be making. That’s why we brought him in – for steady hands. He gave us the exact opposite this past year.

But like the defense, this doesn’t mean a complete uprooting is necessary. So Petr Cech being sent out, loan or sale, is foolish, and a mistake that isn’t worth making, not for the greater, future good or anything.

Napoli are rumored to be after Cech on a loan deal. To some, this may seem like a peachy deal, because it gives Cech some time to maybe regain himself while the Gunners can pursue other first-team keepers without hesitation.

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But this is a mistake not unlike we’ve already made. When the choice was there to be made between David Ospina and Wojciech Szczesny – one who could challenge the first team and learn from the incoming Petr Cech and one to be a perennial backup, the wrong choice was made – Ospina over Szczesny.

Now that Cech is here, he has a purpose to serve. He has a position to fight for, but you have to give him someone to fight him for it. Someone like Bernd Leno. Someone who could feasibly earn the first team role but still stand to learn from someone like Petr Cech, like Szczesny would have.

I hate even bringing up Szczesny, because all of this could have been avoided if only we’d have put value in him and his ability to challenge Cech.

It’s time to make up for that decision. Keep Cech. Challenge him. Meanwhile, drop Cech and buy someone that can feasibly take the first team role. Let the situation do the rest. That’s how these things work. Cech is a veteran resource unlike many others out there, that can be so valuable to whoever comes next.

But he can also still be a resource on the pitch. There is a value to internal competition that can be drawn upon at such a seemingly closed position.

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Whatever the case, selling Cech serves no great purpose. Loaning him serves less of one, unless the intention is to sell inevitably in the end.

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