Is Petr Cech really worth 15 extra points?

When rumours of Petr Cech’s departure from Chelsea to join Arsenal surfaced at the end of 2014/15 season, John Terry declared that the Czech international “will save them 12 or 15 points a season”.

Many Arsenal fans, desperate for Premier League success, readily obliged. Cech had a great ‘treble’ winning preseason, lifting the Barclays Asia Trophy, Emirates Cup and FA Community Shield—the latter against his former team. Moreover, the addition of Cech should prove to be a major upgrade from the likes of Szczesny.

However, is Cech really worth 15 extra points to Arsenal? Can he make the Gunners serious title contenders this season? If Arsenal’s opening 2015/16 Barclays Premier League fixture against West Ham is anything to go by, then the answer is probably no. I am not denying that Cech is great goalkeeper. One only has to look at his statistics with Chelsea to see his worth.

But let’s face it, he was horrendous against West Ham. He was a bit too eager for the first goal and looked like a muppet for the second. Yes, it is true that every Arsenal player was poor in the opening round of the BPL, but Petr Cech was brought to the club to stop those types of goals. One can only hope that he (and everyone else in Arsenal) will improve in subsequent matches. However, it does not matter how well Cech plays if Giroud is unable to score sitters. It does not matter how well Cech plays if Özil continues to be lethargic and disinterested. It does not matter how well Cech plays if the defence is a hot mess.

I am not saying that Arsenal cannot win the 2015/16 BPL, but Petr Cech is not magically worth 15 extra points for Arsenal if the abovementioned issues are not resolved.

Photo Credit: arsenal.com

2 Comments

  • Cech bin washed…since that skull fracture he not bin as brave or confident coming off the line so he is pretty much the same type of keeper as any of Farcenal’s previous ones. Worth an additional 0 points

  • chantml3 says:

    I think Cech is still a good goalkeeper even after the injury. But Arsenal has a lot more issues to sort out if they want to realistically win the Premier League.

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