There is little doubt £10million signing Petr Cech possesses the experience, talent and personality Arsenal need to launch a Premier League title charge next season.
I’m a firm believer that uncertainty between the sticks can trickle through the rest of the XI, but it works both ways; even amid his less eventful spells in the Stamford Bridge goal, the 33 year-old has always been a calm, composed and orchestrating figure, contrasting sharply with the hap-hazard nature of Wojciech Szczesny’s performances from the last year. David Ospina’s impressive showings last season as the their form accumulated stronger with every victory gave a taste of what Gunners could achieve with a world-class No.1 and Cech certainly fits the bill.
John Terry fears his former team-mate could add 15 points to Arsenal’s tally come next May. If that were the only variable from last season to the coming campaign, the Gunners would finish up with 90 points; three more than Chelsea and just five short of their Premier League record set in 2004/05. Since the Premiership’s incarnation, no side has claimed 90 points without winning the title.
Personally, however, I’m unconvinced one man – even in as intrinsic a position as goalkeeper – can make all the difference to a side who haven’t lifted the English crown in over a decade. There are still clear glass ceilings between the Gunners and the other title contenders; in a nutshell, they need to make more signings of Cech’s world-class calibre before the end of August.
The positions I’m about to discuss will be nothing new to Arsenal fans. The first is, of course, central midfield. The argument that the Gunners need a holding player has waned since the emergence of Francis Coquelin from the end of last season. In my opinion, justifying a long-term role in the starting XI based upon 22 league outings of strong form is a bit of a risk – in fact, it’s a parallel situation to Arsene Wenger’s swap of Ospina for Cech – but the Frenchman has certainly proved himself capable of injecting defensive discipline into Arsenal’s midfield.
Yet, my concern is one of physicality. There’s an understandable fear that a cumbersome 6 foot 3 warrior of the William Carvalho variety will disrupt Arsenal’s rhythm and definitive style of play. But the absence of a physically intimidating midfielder – comparable to Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic, Man United’s Marouane Fellaini or Manchester City trio Yaya Toure, Fernando and Fernandino – will inevitably catch up with the north Londoners sooner or later. Even if it’s a more progressive box-to-box option, such as Newcastle’s Moussa Sissoko or Juventus’ Arturo Vidal, Arsenal’s engine room needs that physical, athletic element somewhere.
Perhaps more important, however, is what Arsenal have to offer up front. Olivier Giroud has spent the last three years as virtually a one-man strike force and for that he deserves huge credit, but the limits of his firepower represents another gap between the Gunners and their divisional rivals.
Man City boast four strikers who would be first choice for most clubs in Europe, including last season’s Golden Boot winner Sergio Aguero; Chelsea have a 20-goal-plus battering ram in Diego Costa, a near one-in-two poacher in substitute Loic Remy and one of world football’s greatest finishers from the last decade in Radamel Falcao, albeit a lesser presence than he once was; but Giroud’s only cover comes in the form of Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck, who can be described at best as winger-forwards.
Most tellingly of all, no Premier League side has claimed the title without their striker scoring more than 20 league goals since 2009. Meanwhile, the France international’s biggest league haul to date for the Gunners is just 16 – during a 2013/14 campaign in which he missed just two top flight fixtures.
Arsenal had 15 different goal scorers in the Premier League this season, ranging from top scorer Alexis Sanchez to midfield enforcer Mathieu Flamini, the most of any club in the division and only five shy of Manchester United’s record-breaking 20 during the 2012/13 campaign. So in theory, the goals Giroud misses out on can be supplemented elsewhere. But in echoes of the debate surrounding Coquelin, it represents another gamble that Arsene Wenger’s counterparts at City and Chelsea aren’t going to take. Jose Mourinho, in particular, leaves absolutely nothing to chance.
Many will wonder why I’m whittling on in such a negative fashion. Arsenal have plenty left in the bank and the transfer window doesn’t close for the best part of two more months. But the Gunners’ recruitment has followed a particular pattern over the last two summers; one costly marquee name accompanied by predominantly youthful squad signings. The only true additions to their starting Xi in that time have been Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, with Mathieu Debuchy and Ospina filling voids for short time periods.
And so far this summer, Wenger has only distanced himself from big money transfer targets. Arsenal’s rumoured pursuit of now-Atletico Madrid striker Jackson Martinez came to nothing and Le Prof has remained consistent on his non-interest in Arturo Vidal, whilst letting Manchester United take the lead in the race to sign Morgan Schneiderlin.
Considering the refrain in the market Wenger demonstrated in the decade before his £42.2million spend on Mesut Ozil – letting £11million man Sylvain Wiltord remain the club’s most expensive signing for the next seven years – one has to consider whether Cech constitutes the be all and end all of Arsenal’s summer. Whilst he’s a definitive step in the right direction, single-handed, the Czech international isn’t enough for the Gunners to disrupt the Premier League’s higher order.