Arsenal: Arsene Wenger reveals Petr Cech contacted him before signing from Chelsea
Arsene Wenger has revealed that he did not
have to break sweat to bring Petr Cech to
Arsenal as the goalkeeper had a pact with the
owner who allowed him to leave Stamford
Bridge to join any club in Europe for a fixed
price, citing the years of service he has put in.
Thibaut Courtois had displaced him as
Chelsea's first choice keeper and Cech, at 33,
wanted to move to another club in the
Champions League, preferably in London,
where he is well settled for 11 years, to tend
to his family and play at the top level.
Cech's arrival has coincided with the Gunners
staying on top of the league table with
Manchester City, a massive turnaround from a
rather tepid start to their campaign last
season. His towering presence has seen the
Gunners concede only eight goals, the joint
best defensive record in the league, alongside
Manchester United.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was largely
against sanctioning any deal with the Gunners
but Roman Abramovich's intervention ruled
him out of the reckoning. The Portuguese
manager is struggling to get his team back on
track, languishing in the bottom half of the
table while Wenger is looking to end his 11-
year title drought with the Blues legend
leading the charge.
"I met Petr and he told me he could be
available for that money and I said: 'For that
money, I'll do it, so you do the job'. I had no
fight with Chelsea, honestly," Wenger said, as
quoted by the Mirror . "He had an agreement
with his chairman that he could go for a
certain price anywhere. We managed to get
him here and we are happy with it."
The Czech Republic international is on the
verge of creating history when the Gunners
take on Tottenham Hotspur in the league on
Sunday , November 8, with him requiring only
one more clean sheet to equal David James's
record of 169.
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