There are so many stories about Chelsea’s Petr Cech being a done deal this morning that it is hard not to accept it is going to happen, but IF it is confirmed then there are other questions that need to be raised.
Today’s Star has reported that the Arsenal goalkeeping coach, Tony Roberts, has gone to join Lukas Fabianski at Swansea, leaving room for Cech’s mentor Christophe Lollichon to move across London with the 33 year-old.
That is a pointer in itself that this transfer is nearly completed, and they also report that Arsene Wenger has assured the Czech international that he will definitely be first-choice for the Gunners next season.
So where does this leave David Ospina? The Colombian has the best stats of any keeper in the Premiership in his 20 games for Arsenal since the New Year, but the Express are saying that Arsenal have already agreed to sell him to Fenerbahce, while the Pole Wojciech Szczesny is set to stay as understudy to Cech for the forseeable future.
If this is true then Ospina must be one of the most successful signings of Wenger’s career but also one of the shortest reigns as an irreplaceable fixture in the First XI. In my opinion it would make much more sense to let Szczesny to go out on loan for a year or two and keep Ospina as backup. Even the best keepers in the world get injured as was shown by Cech replacing Courtois for 8 games for Chelsea last season.
I certainly believe that we would have much more chance of retaining the FA Cup for a third season in a row if we had Ospina between the sticks rather than Szczesny. Who agrees?