I wonder if Roman Abramovich is now regretting his decision to let Arsenal sign the Czech Republic international number one to Arsenal, despite the advice from then Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and their captain John Terry suggesting how much difference Petr Cech could make to our Premier League title challenge.
It is clear that Cech has had a big effect on the Gunners and not just because of his all round ability in goal, but for the calming influence he has had on the Arsenal defenders and the experience he brings into the dressing room. Both David Ospina and Wojciech Szczesny are talented keepers but Cech is a step up and Arsenal needed it.
So he has made a difference to us but the other big clubs already had top keepers, so have we merely caught up? Sky Sports produced a report this week comparing the stats for the keepers of the top four clubs and although he does not come out top on every category, Cech is never far behind and it is clear that he has been a better all round keeper that Man City’s Joe Hart, Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris and Leicester’s Kasper Schmeichel.
You can see a stats comparison between the four keepers here on Squawka.com and the most telling figure is Cech´s total score of 675 which is way better than Lloris with 472, Hart with 352 and Schmeichel with 109.
And ahead of the crucial game against Leicester in Sunday, Cech’s figures compared to Schmeichel’s suggests that the keepers could play a pivotal role in the result. I think it was Brian Clough that once said that in a tight race, the team with the best keeper wins and led Nottingham Forest to the title with Peter Shilton in goal.
Will Cech prove him right this season?