There are some gooners expressing their discomfort about Petr Cech starting against Chelsea, given that days later he could be an employee of the opposition. It has been widely expected that our keeper would be offered employment with his former club given his legendary status at the Bridge. Maybe he should have started negotiations once his retirement was official? This could even be a ploy by our rivals to unsettle us this week. Either way there are now fans who don’t want him to start on Wednesday.
If you want Leno to play based on him being our number 1 goalie, I understand that. If you are basing your opinion on Cech’s sudden job offer, then I think you are being disrespectful to one of the Premierships greatest players. Because in essence you are basically questioning the man’s professionalism, saying he would sacrifice another medal based on a conflict of interest. He has long since proven he is a born winner. To suggest he would sabotage lifting a trophy in his final game for the sake of earning some brownie points is laughable.
Some have questioned the man’s integrity by not waiting till he hangs up his boots to make future plans. Yet he’s not doing anything he’s not entitled to do. If fit would you not want Ramsey to start based on him knowing he’s a Juventus player in a few weeks? Do you not think Welbeck or Monreal’s agent have been making contingency plans? Should they not travel to Baku?
Has their dedication been compromised by their contracts about to expire?
Even if Cech hadn’t decided to call it quits, were their guarantees we would be extending his deal?
If we didn’t want to pay over the odds to keep Ramsey, are we going to carry on paying over 100 000 pound a week for someone only playing in the cup games?
In 2 out of the last 3 cups we won, we started Szczesny and Fabianski when we knew it was their last game as Gunners.
Even when he didn’t start the last time we beat Chelsea in a Final, Cech held out 5 fingers to show he was counting this towards the other 4 FA Cups he has won. So if next week’s showpiece comes down to pens, why would Cech turn down the opportunity for a 20th piece of silverware over putting one over his future coworkers?
Dan Smith