After all of Jose Mourinho’s body checks dampened hopes of a Petr Cech arrival at Arsenal, there is now positive news. He is reportedly arriving after agreeing to personal terms. Left is the haggling over what he costs. Chelsea want £15m, Arsenal offering somewhere in the £10m region. However, Roman Abramovich himself has agreed to the move as reward for his years of service and a winning presence at the club.
Cech’s future was in doubt at Stamford Bridge despite a season left in his contract, as Thibaut Courtois edged him out as first choice goalie. The Belgian had a fantastic first season and is rated as one of the top three goalies in the PL vying with David De Gea and Hugo Lloris. With Courtois’s success, Cech’s playing minutes under Mourinho were severely curtailed and he only made 7 league appearences last season.
The Chelsea legend overall made 332 appearances keeping 162 clean sheets. As impressive as his goalkeeping, equally crucial to Arsenal is his knowledge of what it takes to win the league, having won four titles in 11 years for the Blues. The other factor to consider could be the desire to show up Mourinho after feeling he was cast aside prematurely which could result in an added edge in his goalkeeping performances.
John Terry claims Cech will fetch Arsenal anything between 12-15 points. Which could be the difference between a fourth placed finish (ahem!) and a title.