Was this Arsenal’s big mistake yesterday? by DN
I listened to Arsene Wenger before the West Ham game saying that he didn’t like to change a winning side, but I was still sure that he would have brought Petr Cech back into the first team. This completely threw me as Wenger made it clear previously that he couldn’t turn down the chance to buy Cech because of his calmness and experience of winning trophies, never mind his excellent clean sheet record.
Petr is the one player in the Arsenal side with a massive trophy haul, and has played in pressure-filled games all through his career with spectacular results. Ospina is no doubt a very good keeper, but Cech’s massive size and presence is always a factor in every game, and just how many points has he saved us already this season?
I think Wenger made a big mistake by not returning Cech to the starting line-up yesterday considering this was a total must-win, all-or-nothing showdown, which is the perfect scenario for Cech to show his worth on the big stage.
Wenger reckons that it would have made no difference to yesterday’s result. He said: “The thinking [behind choosing Ospina] was that he has had some outstanding performances. With Petr Cech or David Ospina, we have exactly the same problem in the air. We didn’t concede in the last two games. Since the beginning of the season, we have had exactly the same problem, no matter who plays.”
Really Arsene? Well I disagree completely. Ospina and Co failed to dominate our penalty area when the crosses came in, and I am certain that Cech would have dealt with the aerial threat much better than Ospina. He would definitely have stopped at least one of those goals going in.
There is no doubt. Wenger shoud have gone to Cech-Savers!
Darren