New addition Petr Cech recently had an interview with Arsenal.com about his hopes and thoughts for the new season, and he is very confident in his own ability and that of his teammates. He is very excited for the new challenge of playing for Arsenal on the back of his move from London rivals Chelsea. His first competitive game was against his former club in the Community Shield, which Arsenal won 1-0 and Cech played a big part in preserving that win. His second appearance was a rough one, where he made two mistakes leading to goals en route to a 2-0 loss to West Ham at home. The third match was better than the West Ham match considering that this one was a tough fixture, where the Gunners won away to Crystal Palace 2-1.
Arsene Wenger had some kind words to say about him: “He has proven over many seasons that he is one of the outstanding keepers in the world and he will add great strength to our squad.”
Cech is hopefully going to pan out as the best Arsenal ‘keeper since David Seaman, and he could be the key to the Gunners’ possible title challenge this season. Even though he was expensive for a goalkeeper, commanding a price of around £11m, he still embraces the competition for his place in the team, saying: “In any team, if you want your goalkeeper to play well, you need to have that healthy competition and mutual respect from your team-mates and in the goalkeeper group.
“It brings everybody to a different level in terms of training and in matches, and it gives confidence. I believe that this is very important in any team.”
The Czech international has won many trophies during his time at Chelsea, including the UEFA Champions League and the Premier league on a number of occasions. Arsenal’s goal as a club for the next few years will be to move on from the FA Cups and Community Shield triumphs over the past two years and start becoming legitimate Premier League and, eventually, Champions League contenders. The 33-year-old says that he is excited to win games and he also spoke about the mentality to do so: “I think you can’t have doubts.
“I believe in what I can do.
“I believe in my skills, I believe in my team-mates and that together we can achieve the targets and goals we set up. That means winning a football game.”
Arguably the most important role the experienced that Cech will have to play is as a teacher, and he is excited to take on that role. He has won everything at the highest club level and is ready to pass on his ways to his new teammates. The former Chelsea man is very passionate about his craft and is ready to talk to any ‘keeper at any level of the club, and he was quoted to say: “I always like to have a chat with everybody.
“I’m very passionate about the role of goalkeeping generally.
“Whoever wants to come and speak to me about it has to be ready to talk for three hours! I’m really open and I always like to have the opportunity to pass on my experience, to help the young players to evolve and to get better.”
Petr Cech is a huge addition to the squad and will give Arsenal stability between the sticks for the first time in a long time. Hopefully, he will start for the next few years and his teachings will benefit his successor, whether that is David Ospina, Wojciech Szczesny, Emiliano Martinez, or any other worthy goalkeeper.
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