JOHN TERRY said Petr Cech would be worth 15 points to Arsenal this season. Well by my reckoning as a regular Arsenal watcher, he has already earned them that so far - and by the end of the campaign I expect him to have earned them more than 20 points.
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| Petr Cech has kept 10 Premier League clean sheets for Arsenal this term in 22 matches played |
If he does that they should every chance of winning the title.
I can remember when we won the title at Arsenal in 1971, it was said that I was worth 14-15 points to the team - in the days when it was two points for a win. Cech will be worth more than that.
His impact on Arsenal and the squad has been massive in the last six months. What he has - and indeed every other great goalkeeper I have encountered has - is an extraordinary presence. Both on the field and off it.
Pat Jennings, David Seaman, Peter Schmeichel, Gordon Banks, they all had this presence, this aura about them - and Cech has it too.
When I first broke into the Arsenal team I used to go and watch Jennings play at Tottenham. He was a unique goalkeeper, hugely influential in his club. Even if these guys made the odd mistake - and they didn't make many - it didn't matter. They just carried on and their sheer calmness and authority at the back seemed to spread through the teams they played for.
I remember in Cech's first game for Arsenal against West Ham, he made a mistake. He had a nightmare really. But he came right out and admitted it. But he knows his ability, he knows what he can do. At 33 he has all the experience. So he, like all great goalkeepers, is calm. He just gets on with it and you would never know he had made a mistake, or what was going through his mind. He knows if he shows that he has made a mistake, it can affect the team. So he doesn't.
Since then, of course he has been immaculate. I watch him in the tunnel before matches, moving from side to side, doing his exercises, filling the tunnel almost. Building himself up.
He is a good talker as well, a leader. For me, Cech is among the best in the world. As good as anyone out there right now. People talk about Manuel Neuer of Germany, but for me the way he comes out and acts as a sweeper makes him vulnerable. And he is not the greatest at crosses. Gianluigi Buffon of Italy is older now of course, getting to that point where he makes the odd error.
I don't think Cech has a weakness. He commands his area, his reflexes are excellent, he is good in the air - and he uses his feet well to stop shots when he has to, like all great keepers.
He can do it all. But I can understand why Thibaut Courtois came in and took over at Chelsea. He is young, brilliant and has an astonishing calmness about him. He is almost deadpan. It was a dilemma for the club.
But at 33 there was no way that Cech could sit on the bench for another year. He is in his prime as a keeper. Of course, Arsenal could have signed him in 2004 before Chelsea got him from Rennes, but Arsene Wenger was told he would have to wait and, in the meantime, Chelsea came in for him.
But to his credit Roman Abramovich allowed Cech to move to Arsenal in the summer because of the service he had given to Chelsea. I know Jose Mourinho didn't want him to go - and especially not to Arsenal. I can imagine he was tearing his hair out!
Dave Beasant (Chelsea goalkeeper 1989-93) on Petr Cech:
“There was time a few years ago when people wondered whether he would come back from his head injury in 2006 quite the same, whether he would be able to command the box, whether he was going to be able to throw himself as bravely at people’s feet in the same way that he had done before. But I don’t think any doubts about that remain.
"As you get older, the physical side of things gets harder. It gets harder to maintain the muscle definition you had when you were younger and, for all that you train hard, nothing quite prepares you for the knock and strains of competitive action.
“I found that last year for Stevenage when I trained really hard and was on the bench (he was sub keeper) aged 56 only to realise that match situations are a bit different to training. I was ready to go but in truth there were a few bits creaking which hadn’t 10 years before.
“What gets better as you get older is your ability to read a game. That and the ability to put yourself in the right position. I think we have seen plenty of that from him this season. Let’s not forget though that Cech is only 33 so he has plenty of time ahead of him and arguably his best years in the next couple of seasons. And that is what makes him such a phenomenal signing.
“Looking at it now I cannot believe Chelsea let him go to such a close rival. It certainly looks like the signing of the season.
“For Arsenal, he looks to be the final piece of the jigsaw because if they were lacking one thing it was a top-class goalkeeper. He could be the difference this season between them hitting the bar like they have been doing and actually getting the title in the bag.
“Cech is a serial collector of silverware which is something that they don’t or didn’t have in their ranks. But he is not the sort of guy who believes a result is ever down to him however many saves he makes in the game. He is a student of the game and he knows that if he performs well then it is because the defensive unit has performed well.
“That is an important point to make and is what makes him by all accounts such a good presence in the dressing room.”
Guus Hiddink (Chelsea manager) on Petr Cech:
“Petr came to collect his new goalkeeping gloves this week, which were accidentally delivered to our training ground, even though he is now at Arsenal.
“We tried to hide them but he knew the gloves were here. We also tried to make them a little bit slippery but he discovered that also.
“Yes, I know him well – but how can he help us tomorrow? Only by having slippery gloves!
“But he has proven that in recent years that he is among the top goalkeepers in the world. Petr, at 33, is still one of those goalies who is so determined and ambitious, working in such detail.
“I experienced that with him in 2009. He was working on the computers here, looking at how his feet were placed when players took a shot. At a free-kick, he looked at whether he was putting his foot inside or outside, whether they’d curl it. We sat at the computer a lot of times. He’s so detailed and ambitious.
“If he maintains his fitness, he can go on for many years. A great example of high professionalism.
“Was it a mistake for Chelsea to let him go? It’s difficult to give a judgment when you were not there, when that decision was taken. They also had a strong goalie here with Thibaut Courtois. At certain moments as a club, you have to make a decision.
“Would I have sanctioned it as a manager? That’s difficult. You must be there at that moment. When is the moment to say goodbye to a player? That’s not easy. We have talented youngsters coming up. It’s difficult when you’re not close to the decision-making.
“I understand they didn’t want to let him go to Arsenal. On the other hand, I can imagine that Petr wanted to play at the highest level.
“I always said, even when you have a season at the top, you’re not always good for 38 games. You have certain periods, when the good goalies save points for your team. He is doing that for Arsenal.”
Arsene Wenger (Arsenal manager) on Petr Cech:
“Petr Cech has had a calming presence on the team. He communicates well, anticipates well, sees what is coming. He is a kind of coach. The best position to be a coach is the goalkeeper – because he doesn’t move and he sees everything. He is the camera behind the team.
“You cannot measure how many points a goalkeeper saves you in a season. But you know one thing: you need a top-class goalkeeper. I have said many times that it is an underrated position. And you need a top-class goalkeeper to do well.
“I didn’t know what kind of shape Petr was in physically when I signed him because he hadn’t played. I didn’t know how much he could still produce physically. He hadn’t played and was battling a drop in physical aptitude. But I knew the potential was exceptional having played against him 11 years in the Premier League. It was a question of physically can he still do it? When I met him I was quickly reassured of his desire to do well and his motivation.
“Look, it was a very, very difficult decision for me because I rate highly David Ospina. Ospina is a keeper who, in my opinion, is underrated, especially in England. But signing Cech was maybe one of the few opportunities in my career to say, ‘Okay, this is an obvious transfer. If I don’t do this, it would have been a mistake’.”
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