Arsene Wenger was clearly not happy with the Arsenal number one at the end of our Premier League defeat away to Man City at the weekend, as he was seen berating Petr Cech at the final whistle. Wenger did not blame the veteran stopper for his part in either of the two City goals but was unhappy about Cech’s decision to play a short pass to Mesut Ozil with just seconds left when a ball into the box was the better option.
That is not the reason why I am suggesting it might be time for Arsenal to give the second choice keeper David Ospina a chance in the league though. I just feel that Cech is not really in top form at the moment and as well as being dropped might just refocus him, I reckon that Ospina’s form in the Champions League has earned him the chance.
The Colombian international will certainly give it his all if he does get the chance, while Cech is perhaps coasting through games. It is nothing specific and I cannot point to any major mistakes that he has made, but along with his failure to get near any of the penalties he faces, Cech has not kept a clean sheet in eight games, the first time in his career that this has happened.
With Coquelin in midfield and a stronger back four than we have seen for years, this failure to keep clean sheets is a real concern. Is it wrong for me to question Cech or do you agree that it is time for the excellent and hungry Ospina to be handed the gloves in an EPL match?
Bob.
cech has been solid as rock this season
no keeper could have saved any of these 4 goals against everton and city
wenger must start playing Lucas
with the inconsistencies in Ox and Walcot and the fact that Elneny and Iwobi are off soon to African cup, we must have Lucas prepared for EPL games
Ospina could play sweeper keeper, and might have closed down the angle on the first city goal.
Stop with the tinkering articles … It’s not the problem with Arsenal FC
Here are what I am going to do in my fantasy arsenal:
– Give Sanchez what he needs (I will be very hesitated to sign again for Arsenal) …
– Try to secure Ozil services, if he is not interested go and get Payet …
– Cazorla must stay for at least one more year …
– Don’t care what it costs, just sign two top attackers (fighters like Sanchez) and get rid of Giroud …
– But before doing all the above, GET a new manager (Fighter like Simeoni)
I don’t think we need to keep Ozil. We need a player that can fight and makes us dominate in the field, not another stylish player.
Giroud is good as a super sub and he usually fights and does physical battle in the field when we are stuck, so we need to keep him.
A new hungry manager is definitely needed, but for the next season, when Arsenal is ready for a big transition. It’s not easy to replace a long-serving manager, take a look at what happened to Mancester United. They don’t dominate anymore, became weaker and spent a lot of money to get underperforming players like Depay, Schneiderlin and Fellaini.
Mkhitaryan is the player you’re talking of. Scores and creates lots of goals.
I don’t think we need to replace Cech now. His reflexes and agility are not as good as Ospina’s, but he is much better in the air (due to his height) and a better ball catcher, which I think is more important to stop the crosses and set pieces, because most of our opponents have tall players and target men.
Cech is like Van Der Sar, not agile, but a reliable goalkeeper. That is all we need for now. We have to fix the mentality and the way Arsenal plays first. Guardiola and Ranieri can build the confidence of their players within several months, so Wenger should be able to do it within twelve years.
yes it’s that time!!
the rate at which this type of articles come will soon re-invent someone OUT article and no body’ll be suprised.
Why Cech?
LW and Ozil have been the issues in the last couple games.
Coquelin and Xhaka are not an ideal partnership (yet?) for possession football.
Swapping the GK is what Bob came up with?
I cant believe what i am reading. Ospina over Czech?
You must be joking.