Arsenal fans can thank our lucky stars that Arsene Wenger did make the decision to push ahead with the transfer of Petr Cech from Chelsea this summer, as long as the Czech Republic international goes on to prove that he is still one of the very best keepers in the Premier League and the world.
Because the manager has admitted to Arsenal Player what a lot of us were thinking before the deal was done; that he was not really sure if the Gunners really needed another man between the sticks. Wenger has repeatedly shown a lot of faith in Wojciech Szczesny over the years and he must have been over the moon with the way that David Ospina performed when he got his chance.
So Wenger admits to the move for the former Chelsea star being a really tough call to make, although now it is done the boss is clearly happy with his choice and hopes that Cech will bring a lot more than just goalkeeping ability to the table.
Wenger said, “It was a very, very tough decision [to buy Cech] because I have two great goalkeepers. I think Cech can make them better as well.
“He has huge experience and the fact that he has won more big trophies can strengthen the belief of the team. That can help them to develop and that’s what I expect from him.
“You always want to improve the experience level of your squad and I thought he could help us gain something on that front.
“I still think he has a huge hunger. When I saw him with Chelsea last year he was always convincing and I’m happy that we could do it. His kind of knowledge and experience can help us.”
The Prof is not well known for taking much account of what is said about us by TV pundits but I do wonder whether all the talk towards the end of last season about us needing a top class keeper to push for the title, from the likes of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher influenced him. Or maybe that one mistake by Ospina as we lost to Swansea was the crucial factor.
Whatever it was, we are lucky that Wenger went for Cech and that Chelsea agreed to sell. But just how big a couple of decisions will they prove to be?