Why Petr Cech is a Gamechanger of a Signing for Arsenal

Luke Ortolani breaks down why Petr Cech is a gamechanger of a signing for Arsenal.

The date was July 25th, 2003. Arsenal had just replaced their legendary goalkeeper in David Seaman with Borussia Dortmund's Jens Lehmann. Not much was known about the German but he was brought into the first team as the Gunners looked to build on their 2002-2003 season where they won the FA Cup but failed to win the league.

Fast forward a season later and Arsenal had won the league. Unbeaten. Yes, that's right. Out of the 38 league games played, Arsenal became the only team in English football to go a season unbeaten, winning 26 games and drawing 12 times.

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It was a huge achievement (especially when you consider the trophy was gold only for them) and still is today, considering noone's been able to replicate them. And one big factor in their run which went on for a total of 49 games was Lehmann. A confident and commanding goalkeeper, Lehmann was also a leader in the dressing room as he helped the Gunners accomplish such an amazing feat.

However, since his departure in 2008, they've not really replaced him at all. Manuel Almunia succeeded him and while he was occasionally decent, he made far too many mistakes and his inconsistency meant he would never be recognized as a top keeper.

Almunia made errors for each goal in a 2-3 home loss to West Bromwich Albion in 2010 which saw him dropped permanently. However, through some bizarre luck, Arsenal's other two goalkeepers became injured in the business end of that season and Almunia found himself back in goal.

He failed to take advantage as he made another error - against West Bromwich Albion again in 2011 - that saw manager Arsene Wenger bring Lehmann out of retirement as an emergency signing.

Wenger turned to young keeper, Wojciech Szczesny (he played well before getting injured the previous season) the next season who showed a lot of promise and was proving to be a very reliable goalkeeper. However, in the past two seasons, he has shown a lot of attitude problems and has become very inconsistent and error prone.

It reached a boiling point this January where after being the sole reason for both of Southampton's goals in a 2-0 defeat, Szczesny was fined for smoking in the showers after the game. Second choice keeper, David Ospina was first choice soon after and has remained first choice since.

And while he's made only a couple of errors, his small frame and poor distribution meant that Arsenal would be on the lookout for another goalkeeper. Enter Petr Cech.

Chelsea's goalkeeper who became second choice for the Blues last season because of Thibaut Courtois is now, rumored to be very close to joining the Gunners.

Cech joined Chelsea in 2004 and was part of the club's most successful period as he won three league titles, a Champions League, a Europa League and four FA Cups. In other words, he is a Chelsea legend.

The now 33-year-old played a major part in all those trophies as he slowly became one of the best goalkeepers in world football.

However, at 33 years of age - which isn't old for a goalkeeper, keep in mind - and the continued rise of Chelsea's 23-year-old Thibaut Courtois on loan at Atletico Madrid, manager Jose Mourinho didn't want to risk losing out on the future by continuing to loan the Belgian out.

And so, Courtois was brought back and became first choice and has been ever since. It has been said that because of Cech's contribution and status at the club, he was told Chelsea wouldn't stand in his way if he wanted to join any other club as long as he sat out on the bench last season.

And because he wants himself and his family to stay in London while competing for a top club, Cech seems to be after Arsenal; Chelsea's rivals. It's fitting that Cech could be joining Arsenal especially after Gunners fans had to endure their former captain, Cesc Fabregas join Chelsea which proved to be an inspired signing and Cech could be just that for Arsenal.

Think of when Edwin van der Sar joined Manchester United in 2006. His signing was a game changer for United as they finally had an experienced and reliable man between the sticks which oversaw their resurgence as they went to win three league titles in a row with the Dutchman in goal.

No longer did they have an inconsistent goalkeeper like Roy Carroll as Van der Sar became the first and undisputed name on the team sheet for them. Similarly, Cech could a game changer of a signing for Arsenal.

For far too long, Arsenal have had title challenges that have ended in them finishing third or fourth. Part of these collapses have been due to the goalkeeping department but Cech could propel them to greater heights and push them that extra mile in challenging for more trophies.

He'll give his defenders confidence, command his area and with his experience in the past and leadership qualities, Arsenal will clearly be a better team.

Quite simply, it is a signing that will send shockwaves across Europe as Arsenal will finally have their first world class goalkeeper since the departure of Lehmann.

It wouldn't be surprising if Cech's ironic prediction to a Chelsea fan did end up becoming true as Arsenal's brilliant squad could really win the league for the first time since 2004 with him between the sticks.

And if they do win the league next season, both their league winning teams would share a similar quality - a world class goalkeeper that was brought in that same year.

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