DONE DEAL? Bookies sure Cech WILL join Arsenal

Usually, or at least when I have placed a bet on some sporting event, I want nothing more than whichever bookie has taken the bet to be left out of pocket. But with my Arsenal fan head on, I hope that the online bookmakers Betfair have got this one bang on.

According to a Metro report, they have today stopped taking any more bets concerning the widespread Arsenal transfer rumour linking us to the Chelsea and Czech Republic keeper Petr Cech. The betting company took the move after the money pouring on for the 33-year old to become a Gunner this summer took the odds down to an incredible 1/10 on.

The report also reveals that our Premier League rivals Manchester United were the favourites to sign the four time Premier League winner not long ago, but the signs are certainly pointing to Cech staying in London and joining Arsene Wenger at the Emirates stadium.

This would be a great start to the summer for Arsenal fans and it would also be an early blow to Jose Mourinho, who has been open about not wanting the player to join Arsenal as it would give us a much better chance of beating his Chelsea team to the BPL trophy.

But would this be the first of many Arsenal signings or the only one Wenger thinks we need?

Tags Chelsea Mourinho Wenger

42 Comments

  1. Fantastic if we could get him, if we don’t not a big deal. I think most people have reached a consensus that a forward is needed, Whilst some argue for a complete replacement for Giroud. I say we need an alternative, a technical perhaps more skillful player like rues who brings versatility in the roles he could play up front but can still score goals and assist. Rues would be my choice since the 40 million Bid for Sterling (Like i said would happen 3 weeks ago), If we have to spend that kind of money on a player it has to be him. I’m still unconvinced on CDM whilst it would be good to have another as i said in the previous post “Nothing really special about Kongdogbia”

    1. No doubt we need a top class striker and DM to win the league. DM can be someone who can challenge lecoq, someone like wanayama would be enough, let’s say we get cech and wanayama/kondogbia, we are still going to need a world class striker who can score goals regularly. Week in week out, a 30+ goal a season type of striker. Or else we can just kiss the title good bye. It would be foolish to rely on welbeck and Theo to challenge giroud. Neither Theo or Danby are ready yet, they are not there yet. Maybe in a year or two they would be able to challenge for the centre forward position but just not now.

      1. Christ man Theo’s 26, enough with the “year or two” rubbish with him….when do we call a spade a spade and say he’s not at the level to be leading us to a title? Good option, like Giroud, but he’s not a talisman by any stretch.

        1. What I mean by year or two is about his transmission into a center forward. I’m not talking about his age. He needs more time to turn into the lethal striker we are looking for

          1. Well I am talking about his age, Theo’s always adamantly stated he’s a ST so why he’d need 1-2 years transitioning is lost on me. What isn’t lost is the fact he’s 26 years of age and has had 1 good season at Arsenal since joining at 16…

            If we’re going into this season with big hopes pinned on Theo I’ll be the first to state that concerns me. We seem to be standing by Theo waiting for the promise to be realized the same way we did with RVP….only difference is Robin was on another planet in terms of ability.

            Bottom line IMO is Theo doesn’t represent a reason NOT to buy a bonafide class ST this window, yet I get every impression that’s exactly what’s going to stop us doing so.

              1. Depends entirely on the type of winger you’re talking about.

                Hleb was amazing but not a prolific scorer, his strength came in key passes, dribbling, ball retention, and overall use with the ball which made our attack more efficient.

                Theo has none of that in his locker, he needs things created for him and relies on his movement and end product. For him to have a good season he needs to be producing high double digit goals and assists, which he’s only managed once for us.

                1. Well he consistently scored or assisted once every two games for multiple seasons until the season you mentioned where he was scoring or assisting once every game on average. Hard to rate him on the last two seasons because of his 9+ month injury but based on playing time he has maintained his goal/assist every 90 minutes.
                  If he translates half his assists into goals as a ST then he is already a 20+ goalscorer…

                2. Are we in the business of making things up now or can you run by me how 76 goals in 302 games is a 1 in 2 ratio?

                  He’s scored 10+ goals in 3 of 9 seasons with us, breaking the 20 goal mark just once. Now that’s not at all convincing when he’s potentially the difference between us buying a Higuain or not.

                3. Friendly wager Charlie. Theo will either assist or score 25 goals this coming season in all comps? (excluding friendlies) If you’re not confident with that line i’m happy to push it out to 30? Winner gets to say a massive I told you so! Possibly in capitals?

                4. Maybe you should reread what I said…I said goals and assists, not just goals because he has been playing as a winger where their top priority isn’t just scoring.

                  10/11 : 9 goals 7 assists: 1700 minutes 28 matches
                  11/12 : 8 goals 11 assists: 2700 minutes 35 matches
                  12/13 : 14 goals 12 assists 2300 min 32 matches<–only good?
                  13/14: 5 goals 5 assists 850 minutes 13 matches
                  14/15: 5 goals 1 assists 450 min 14 matches (mostly sub)

                  The thing is he has incredible returns and this is only as a winger.

                5. I read what you said, but I’m not going to accept YOUR customized parameters for what defines good output.

                  ST’s often have their goals to game ratio looked at, 1 in 2 is the accepted mark a top ST will produce. You’ve mashed it together to give Theo a leg up saying he scores…..or assists…..in 1 in 2.

                  Quality stuff, but your attempt to change the parameters of judgement only strengthen the fact Theo is not top quality and by no means a talisman for a title challenging club.

            1. I agree 100% with you buddy, specially that Theo banged in 4 goals in the last two matches for arsenal. I’m afraid Wenger has made up his mind and going to use Theo as a striker. I hear what you say buddy they are all facts, but everone seems to know we need a new striker and Theo has proven in the last season that we can’t depend on him as a regular goal scorer, so you still think we get is going to give him a chance? Wenger might look back and say hey we have danny, Olivier and now Theo. I just hope that’s not the case

      2. I would like to have a top class striker, But obviously Wenger loves Giroud so being realistic the best hope is for a versatile forward like Reus. I don’t hide my feelings for Giroud, I’m not particularly fond of him as ive said time and time again you cant be the difference maker for a title winning side when you have the same goal record as a striker who’s side; firstly is worse off in terms of quality and secondly is constantly fighting a relegation battle (Benteke) 42 Goals in 82 appearances the same as Giroud. Thats why my hope is that we would sign Rues a proven goal scorer and play maker,

        1. I cant see Reus coming if im being honest. Imagine Reus and Sanchez opposite wings, che, nor city, nor many at all who can boast that firepower on the wings. Barca Real maybe BVB and thats it. We would have attacking midfield amongst the top echelon. Would love to see it but it seems a wishlist.

      3. Walcott has been in the first team for 8 seasons. He still isn’t ready? That must mean he isn’t good enough.

    2. I don’t see Reus being a viable target for us if i’m honest, last summer it was either him or Alexis and we made the choice. This time round it hinges on Theo and his upcoming role in the team. I sadly feel we’re going to see him as the alternative ST many talk about which I have massive reservations over.

      With that said, I think a winger-come-striker is more likely the target and have a feeling someone more like Draxler will be targeted, he would be a fantastic addition after a subdued year in Germany – thanks to injury he won’t be at the 35mil premium he was a season ago. Sterling could be an option in a cash+players deal, but no way we’re spending 40mil on him outright. I can’t see us buying a ST unless something drastic happens in the market and someone Wenger loves (Benzema) becomes readily available.

      Cech-Vidal-Draxler would be brilliant business this summer but that’s unlikely. The lack of movement in the window is a little disconcerting, United have started, City have started, Chelsea have started, Liverpool are a few deep already, and we’re pretty passive right now.

      1. Come on Charlie why so miserable? As you have said we may be on the verge of perhaps our most significant signing in years – a world class player in probably the single most important position on the field. That is not “pretty passive” and who knows what else is going on? Some of Wenger’s better deals have needed events to unfold before we can act. Chelsea have a yet unannounced 1 year loan deal on the table are more busy trying to offload some of their last year’s buys (Luis, Cuadrado and Remy). LvG has picked up one of his world cup Dutch kids early and is flapping about de Gea. City have just sold one of their better players and are busily going through their “Loadsamoney” routine flashing a £40M cheque at Liverpool. And Liverpool……..well you told me recently they don’t count and in fairness have more reason to be active early than anyone else.

    3. SO FAR, FROM THE COMMENTS I HAVE READ ON GUNNERS NEWS. THERE IS A GENERAL CONSENSUS, THAT WE NEED A WC STRIKER, DM, AND GOALKEEPER

      THATS PRETTY SPOT ON, IF U ASK ME.

      BUT WHAT ABOUT WENGER, HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO DOESNOT HOLD THIS VIEW

      SEASON AFTER SEASON, we need change, we need fresh air.

      #WengeroutKlopin

  2. It’s pretty clear this transfer is wanted by Arsenal and the player, it’s also clear Mourinho has covered his bases in the public domain by saying he’s simply going to respect Cech’s wishes and let the owner make the final decision. He’d rather not sell us him, but he’s free of the blame because sit most likely will happen.

    I fully expect to see Cech on Arsenal.com within the fortnight and that will be a very nice START to our summer business. I simply pray we don’t then sit back and marvel at getting a world class player of our neighbors missing the fact a DM and stellar attacking option need adding. Fingers crossed until any official announcement but on the face of it Cech is close to being crossed off the shopping list and that would be terrific!

  3. Cech will definitely be a great addition to our squad as he has 11 years exp plus four time PL and one time CL winner. He has champions mentality but if Wenger thinks only GK addition is enough then he is wrong. We need two more WC player. One striker or goal scoring Winger and one DMF equal/better than Coq.

  4. I won’t believe it until I see him completely naked (apart from his scrum cap obviously) stood outside the Emirates burning his Chelsea kit while waving a Tiny Arsenal flag.

  5. At this point I would be completely shocked if Cech doesn’t come as this is probably the most legit rumor to come out involving us in years. DM still up in the air due to Coquelins performances but Schneiderlin was indeed Wengers priority for this summer before so, we’ll just have to wait and see. As for the ST I would be shocked if we do get one as I honestly think we’re more in need of a classy versatile goal scoring winger for the RW position, we can all sing our wish list out for that player but only the club and those close to it knows who that target really is.

    1. No! Just because Metro believes the bookies have stopped taking bets it doesn’t mean it’s a done deal.

      For whatever reason, and I doubts its inside knowledge, they are protecting themselves from having to make massive payouts.

      Perhaps they are as fooled by the media as we are?

      The cech can still bounce!

  6. Look to be honest our keeper situation isn’t the worst ospina-szczesney-martinez is probably the 2nd best 3 keepers of any of the top clubs. The difference is that chelsea, city, United and spurs all have better number 1s than us and chelsea have 2 better keepers than any of ours.

    Similarly our “front 5” options of ozil sanchez walcott giroud cazorla Ramsey wilshire rosicky chamberlain arteta welbeck gnabry akpom campbell podolski zelalem sanogo give us some real depth, but we severely lack that World class striker, that title winning teams always seem to have. Just look at the list of winners and look at their leading scorer that season. I am not being funny, but could you put giroud, welbeck or walcott in that group? People may point to berbatov or tevez but at that time both were top of their game. Ok they might not all be 30+ goalscorers, but when a player is world class it makes the defenders think twice and allows other players to make use of that.
    2015 chelsea costa
    2014 man city aguero
    2013 man utd van persie
    2012 man city tevez
    2011 man utd berbatov
    2010 chelsea drogba
    2009 man united rooney
    2008 man united ronaldo
    2007 man united ronaldo

    1. atid: For the sake of argument I’m happy to concede they are all different class (but for me barring Costa at the moment) to OG. But putting Ronaldo aside for obvious reasons; everyone of those strikers has 250+ top level league games and none of them are better than a goal every other league game. Costa is the worst at 0.39 goals/game and Aguero the best at almost exactly 0.50. You take penalties out and most of them drop their averages. We know OG is at 0.43. Aguero, Rooney and Van Persie have scored more than 20 league goals twice each in approx ten seasons. Costa, Berbatov, Drogba and Tevez more than 20 league goals once each in their entire careers.

      Lampard was Chelsea’s top scorer in both 2005 and 2006 with 13 and 16 goals respectively. United won 6 of their first 7 PLs without their top scorer troubling 20.

      I’m not denying the margins are fine and your odds may improve with someone who has a slightly better return – it just irritates me to see all the chat suggesting a “top striker” will make a night and day difference. When you forget the names and the reps and just look at the numbers over a long period of time it tells a slightly different story. Benzema is constantly linked to us but has broken 20 (just, with 21 goals) once in his career and has 87 league goals in his 6 seasons at Real Madrid. OG has 95 in last 6 seasons. Would you honestly spend £30-40M of your money to swap him with OG?

  7. I think in his heart Cech is a gooner, since childhood. Just hid this fact from Mou for all these years!

  8. We need a team that can play with three different tactics – full on attack , balanced and defensive.

    In the full on attack mode we dont use a DM and give the two midfield posts to attack minded midfielders such as Cazorla, Jack, or Rambo

    In the balanced mode we add in Le Coq instead on on of the attack minded players.

    In the defensive mode we can either play Le Coq and Jack or if either is hurt we can play Arteta or Flamini. This does not seem like an ideal option.

    So to cover injuries and form dips to Le Coq and Jack and to challenge them to become better players we definitely need a DM type player this season.

    1. Jack can of course play DM in England shirt; not in the EPL that is physical, fast and with frenetic tempo. Jack would be exposed because he doesn’t really have the legs for DM position.

  9. And send Sczej on loan. The guy has potential which is evident in some of his moments of brilliance. But this is neautrilzed by his moments of absolute madness and blinder which has its roots in his attitude and ignorance. He will probably learn this when on loan by learning his place.

  10. Great if Cech is signed but I do not foresee more than one world class versatile Midfielder joining the squad after Cech. I doubt if Arsene would buy striker. I may be wrong but I just have that feeling. Wenger would point to the fact that we have Giroud, Walcot, Alexis, Welbeck, Akpom and of course Sanogo whom Wenger adore to be in the mould of Adebayor. I don’t mind anyway. All we need is for one of our fast strikers to click and that’s it.

  11. I really do like our strikers but doubt we can lift the Epl title with Giroud, theo and wellbeeck. Cech will be a terrific signing. Will put us up there with chelsea and city, but a world class striker is a must if we are really ready to challenge for the title. UP GUNNERS

  12. Cech, Vidal and Martinez – those 3 players are exactly what we need to win the title next season. Cech at 33 still has plenty to offer – boatloads of experience and a winners mentality. What I like about him most is that he is calm, reliable and one of the most consistent keepers I have seen.

    Vidal – ‘The warrior’ The guy is a beast that can dominate the midfield defensively and also has it in him to score goals if necessary (highest goal scorer in the Copa America so far.) Like his compatriot Alexis, he has a high work rate, something quite rare to be honest in the BPL. We all saw how Alexis high work rate transformed our team, just imagine a midfield version of him. Can’t say no to that. Also, loads of experience playing next to the like of Pirlo and all the other legends at Juve.

    Martinez for his skill and ability to score individual goals, something Giroud and most of our strikers lack. The only players right now capable of scoring goals like this is Sanchez and perhaps Chamberlain. We DESPERATELY need this type of CF up front. For the last 30 seasons, Martinez has scored 30+ goals each of those seasons. I know its an inferior league, but scoring 8 goals in the CL before getting knocked out is also no easy feat.

    Sanogo, Podolski, Diaby, Flamini, Jenkinson all need to be sold.

  13. That just means a lot of money has been put on the transfer happening, they are limiting a likely payout, not a guaranteed one. I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the odds until they stop taking bets on it.

  14. Let me make my point very clear for all Gooners to understand. Half of the head KEY for Arsenal to win the much sort after Premeir League title is right there in Arsenal FC backyard. I repeat, Arsenal already have 3 strikers in Olivier Giroud, Theo’ Walcott and Daniel Welbeck who can combinely give Arsenal 60 goals in rotation in all competitions. Let us appreciate the quality of the potential 3 no.9s we have all these periods in our team. But the Boss have been playing the last 2 of the trio differently. Now the Boss should in rotation play them as strikers. And we will see wonders. As a WARNING!, no striker should be overplayed next season. And the versatile Jack Wilshere should start at right back to replace Walcott and Welbeck at that position. After assessing the indisciplined smoking attitude of Szczesny and the Subversive attitude of David Ospina on his Falcao lust for Chelsea. I wouldn’t be against Arsenal anymore to sign a top quality goalkeeper this summer for security reason and as disciplinary measure against those 2. But I don’t know if it will be Petr Cech. The other bottom half KEY to complete the whole KEY is, Arsenal need to sign a top quality left back to instill more disciplined defending at Arsenal’s left back position which was suspects to letting in goals last season. Arsenal should also sign a top quality DM that plays differently from Coquelin DM job but complement him. The new DM must be the attacking kind that will not only score goals but should equally be to the task of cutting out or slow down the opponent’s attacking threats from the root to stop them play their game and thus kill their game. A top quality right winger should also be signed as option and rotation to Wilshere. This is the KEY for Arsenal ultimate success in all competitions next season. I hope the Boss will take it and use it to open the Game Data Base of all Arsenal opponents in all competitions and corrupts their various App Game Data Plans. Arteta, Cazorla and Ramsey need not to worry if the Boss signed a top quality DM to play alongside Coquelin. They will all get adequate game time on the field of play as the Boss should rotately gives them game time to play in some specific games. So, they need not to panic.

  15. Watching Colombia v Brazil and what a stop from our Ospina to two shots one after the other from Neymar. World class

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