In Petr Cech’s first interview as an Arsenal player, he revealed some very interesting reasons as to why he chose to join Arsenal over the likes of Paris Saint-Germain.
Cech spoke of Arsene Wenger’s ambition as they key reason for joining the club. He told Arsenal.com:
“I’m really excited about joining Arsenal Football Club and can’t wait to join up for pre-season. I have the same commitment to football, the same motivation and the same hunger for success as I had at the beginning of my career, and I love the challenges brought by the top quality players you face while playing in the Premier League. When Arsène Wenger spoke to me about his ambitions for this club, and how he saw me as part of this team, the decision was clear.”
Is this Wenger just saying the usual? Or is he planning another couple of big signings this summer to turn the club into domestic and European contenders? Perhaps he told Cech he plans to invest further in the squad this summer. For me, the signing of Cech speaks volumes.
Just a few weeks ago Wenger said he believed he had three top quality keepers. That may be the case, but he didn’t have any world class keepers. Cech was made available, he’s world class – Wenger didn’t hesitate – as he might have done in the past – and he paid the asking price without many questions.
Admittedly, Arsenal had a lot of help in the deal thanks to their geographical location. Cech clearly wanted to stay in London, but Wenger’s influence should
On the deal, Wenger was clearly delighted that he’d managed to convince long term target Cech to come to The Emirates:
“Petr Cech is a player that I have admired for a long time and I am very pleased that he has decided to join us. 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.”
In Cech we have added an essential component for a title winning squad. We still need two more players in my opinion, another defensive midfielder and perhaps a striker. If we got both then we could go into the season very confident both in Europe and domestically.