Arsenal have signed Petr Cech from Chelsea for an undisclosed fee, thought to be in the region of £11m.
After only playing 16 times for Chelsea last season and increasing competition with Thibaut Courtois, Chelsea have reluctantly agreed for the deal to go through. Cech has an extensive honours list at Stamford Bridge, including four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups and a Champions League and Europa League title.
The Daily Mail has reported Cech will be on a three-year deal worth around £100,000 a week, although the official Arsenal statement is ambiguous, merely revealing that Cech has signed “a long-term contract”.
Competition for a starting place at Chelsea is likely to have played a major part in the deal. After years of being Chelsea’s first choice Goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois has managed to retain his place above Cech for the majority of the season. Roman Abramovich is thought to have allowed the Czech Republic international ‘keeper to move to any club of his choosing. The decision is in respect of all Cech has achieved at Chelsea in his 11 year tenure at the club.
Chelsea captain John Terry said that if Arsenal were to sign Cech he will help them achieve an extra 12-15 points this season. With the signings of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Özil over the last two summers Arsenal now have to be considered serious title contenders after this most recent arrival. Chelsea will have been unwilling to see the move go through and Arsenal can certainly take advantage of it has next year.
Arsenal will now have to consider the positions of Wojciech Szczesny and David Ospina, with the latter being heavily linked with a move to Turkish club Fenerbache.
For now, Arsenal fans will be delighted with another excellent signing. Cech is undeniably an improvement on the current goalkeepers at Arsenal and one of the greatest ‘keepers in recent Premier League history. Cech’s first game for Arsenal is set to be the Community shield on August 2nd – against former club Chelsea.
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