Reports: Cech to Arsenal a Done Deal

Petr Cech’s move to Arsenal is now complete, with the Gunners paying £11 million to take the 33 year old to the Emirates, acccording to sources. The rumours that this was about to happen have been intensifying over the past week. The player had already admitted his desire to move from Chelsea and has reportedly moved from one side of London to the other .

 Petr Cech is one of the four best goalkeepers currently in England, and Arsenal’s current goalkeeping duo have left something to be wanted. Rumours are also on the rise that David Ospina might be on his way to Fenerbahce, after just one year at the club, which would see the Polish Szczesny play second fiddle to the Czech Republic international, having been pushed to the bench by David Ospina halfway through the 2014-15 campaign.

While he’s out of contract at the end of next season, handing the Gunners a premier goalkeeper for £11 million may turn out to be a suboptimal move for Chelsea, but having been pushed to the bench by the young Belgian Thibaut Courtois, and with his desire to stay in London to keep his family happy, the move to Arsenal seemed like his best option all along.

Cech also received the individual award of Best Goalkeeper in the 2004–05, 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons of the UEFA Champions League. In addition, he was named in the FIFPro and UEFA Champions League teams of the season in 2006. He is considered to be one of the best and most respected goalkeepers of his generation.

Cech went 1,025 minutes without conceding a goal  a Premier League record, until it was surpassed by Edwin van der Sar of Manchester United on January 09.

Cech also won the Golden Glove three times; in the 04–05, 09–10 and13-14 as the Premier League goalkeeper with the most clean sheets. As of 2014, Cech had kept a club record 220 clean sheets for Chelsea in all competitions.

This will be a great signing for Arsenal, as they have lacked the presence of a solid, reliable man between the sticks since Jens Lehmann departed in 2008. This move would also be the second consecutive signing in two years, where a player from one of the Gunners’ rivals have moved to the Emirates instead of the troubling trend of transfers going the opposite way, which had become a recurring one.