Petr Cech has confirmed that he will call time on his playing career when his Arsenal contract runs out this summer.
The 36-year-old is one of the most decorated keepers in English football history, winning four league titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, the Champions League and the Europa League.
We’d love to say that was all achieved in Gunners colours, but he also had a spell at Chelsea before joining us three years ago.
— Petr Cech (@PetrCech) January 15, 2019
In a statement released on social media, he wrote: “This is my 20th season as a professional player and it has been 20 years since I signed my first professional contract, so it feels like the right time to announce that I will retire at the end of the season,” wrote the 36-year-old in a statement.
“Having played 15 years in the Premier League, and won every single trophy possible, I feel like I have achieved everything I set out to achieve.
“I will continue to work hard at Arsenal to hopefully win one more trophy this season, then I am looking forward to seeing what life holds for me off the pitch.”
Petr has been usurped by Bernd Leno as Unai Emery’s first choice stopper this season, but he’s still playing a fair bit across the cup competitions. We look forward to giving him a proper farewell at the end of the season.
Petr Cechs out. Don’t @ me.
Model professional on and off the pitch, one of the few Chelsea players I could ever tolerate. Maybe the only one. Let’s hope he signs off with a UEL winner’s medal!
I tolerate him and Drogba. The latter by admiration for having what I don’t see in Arsenal players including even Henry. He was there at every single critical time. Finally we will see the handsome Cech without his helmet as a competent pundit on TV. One thing I loved about Lehman is when he expressed his anger about the way a player injured Cech putting his wellbeing and life in danger.
Nostalgia clearly getting the better of you if you prefer Drogba’s diving over Henry’s pace and finishing.
Drogba was there in critical times? You seem to forget he was injured 1/3 of the time he was at Chelsea. Yeah he was playing through critical times in crutches and scored from his cast-covered left foot bangers eh?
Pity we didn’t get him when we originally wanted him, and I wish it had gone better while he was actually here, but he certainly had his moments. His penalty save against Deeney (context and all that) will live long in my memory at least.
PS How’s he 35 and 36 years old in consecutive paragraphs?
He’s 35 until he’s 36, surely.
I believe that’s how it works 😉
He’s 37 now apparently
37 in May 2019
He’s 35 until he’s 36. But, he’s surely not 37 until he’s at least reached 36. This I know to be absolutely true.
He’ll turn 37 in the week between the FA Cup final and the Europa League final; let’s make it a triple celebration.
It was a long paragraph.
Good luck to Cech, he was an excellent keeper in his day, unfortunately I think we signed him at a time when he was in decline. He seems like a decent man & I wish him well.
Looking forward It will also help with the wage bill in the summer, I would like us to go for an young English keeper like Pope, Butland or Johnstone at WBA.
Happy retirement Petr.
If he was in decline when we signed him than he must have been the greatest keeper in history. The first 2 years with us he was brilliant and even when the errors crept I n last season was still a top keeper. Pertinent feel far safer with him today than the error prone Leno
He had a good first season
I was at his first game against West Ham in 2015 when he let one slip under his body….although I was also there when he made that brilliant save against Benteke when we played Liverpool a few weeks later. If you look at Cech in his pomp at Chelsea to what he has done at Arsenal it’s very clear he wasn’t nearly at the same level when he joined us,. I was at Leicester away (again in 2015) when Vardy run rings round him. He has been decent for us but I don’t think that a) he was still at… Read more »
Pope or Butland won’t be sold for less than £20m and I doubt we have that amount of money to buy a second choice keeper. It would be cheaper to just keep Ospina or Martinez for another year, unless we can pick up an out of contract keeper.
Martinez & Ospina are not good enough. There is a possibility that Stoke or Burnley may go down (please) or in Stoke’s case stay at that level, if that’s the case then you could in theory get them fairly easily as no other top club needs them at the moment.
Personally I really like Johnstone, I was surprised no one bigger than WBA picked him up last summer.
Would not be surprised to see Ospina back.
I would definitely have taken Pope…is he still injured though. Burnley haven’t looked the same without him.
Easily one of the best GKs of the 21st century.
Despite his past with Chelsea, always gave his best in Arsenal’s red and white.
All the best in your retirement, Chech!
Now you have more time to bless us with YouTube drum videos!
I’d like to see him attempt B.Y.O.B.
Few days ago he was saying he would love to sign a new contract and now he is about to retire. I would be OK with that if Leno was better keeper but he isn’t. He never will be. We probably won’t sign a No.1 keeper and we will be stuck only with Leno who will struggle like this season and many before. Hopefully Martinez or Macey will step up. I really don’t think this was solely his decision. He still wanted to play but in London. He should got a new contract. Next sentence will probably anger some people.… Read more »
Not a drop of water in this glass – carry on mate
You can’t keep handing out contracts on the basis of sentiment, Cazorla is my favourite player of the Emirates era, but if we want a change in style? Then it was necessary and right for both parties that he moved on. I’m not sure what disrespect any of these players have been shown? I’d have liked us to offer Welbeck a new deal, but if there was no plan before his injury? Then I don’t see why that should change now? particularly if the club reportedly accepted bids for him in the summer? But apparently he chose to enter the… Read more »
I think that Özil has proved many times the asset he is for the club whether it is under Wenger or Emery. He is 30, a world class player, trophies winner… and someone we have missed lately. The latest words of Emery have been very disrespectful and Özil’s wages are no reason to be handled this way.
I am not sure why so many thumbs down. You are so right about Leno.
Martin you call me both stupid and toxic when I express my opinion on Ozil.
But then your happy to criticise Leno? Surely using your own logic, this now makes you stupid and toxic…
Welcome to the club ?
Now now…
I think Leno is good!
Same people who were demanding that Leno play are now criticizing him only because the club is not winning. How many errors did Leno make that led to a goal? one?
Mad Respect! This year he has shown signs of decrease in performances, not just due to the fact that Unai makes him play from the back. Still though, he did produce some brilliant saves this season. And I can’t help wonder if he should sign for a lower team. He still has it in him I think for at least another two years, perhaps in the lower league. Perhaps he wants more time with his family. Anyhow, I really hope he joins somewhere in a GK coaching role. I would generally say at Arsenal, but Unai does play from the… Read more »
Lord.
I think the quote you refer to from JT was 15 points in a season which I thought was a bit optimistic and so it proved but he was a reasonable keeper to have in the team. I am glad he is retiring whilst still a capable player and many more “mature” professionals should take note rather than drag out a longer career in lower leagues based on the reputation of what they used to be able to do. Still up until recently we had about 7 Academy goalies on the books. Where have they all gone? Of course, it… Read more »
David Ospina my friend, it’s time to step up to the plate
Ospina has been on the bench in the last three serie A games
I think there’s an auto buy if he plays enough games, they could be managing the appearances to negotiate
Their first choice keeper was injured for most of first half of the season which is why they loaned Ospina in the first place. Now that he is fit again, Ospina won’t play much for the rest of the season. It’s that simple really.
Nope there was a loan report and he played the other day and kept a clean sheet.
Coppa Italia. Meret has started the last 3 Serie A games since returning from injury.
Ospina is perfectly decent but not top class keeper. Was always happy with him as the man on the bench if needed.
Leno warrents more time… The one we should not have let get away was Szczesny
Yes it would be a great competition as to who made the most mistakes as not sure who is the worst keeper between Ospina and Leno. I suppose Leno is taller.
I really wish there was a way to surgically combine Leno and Cech. At the start of the season both had good attributes and both bad. The whole idea of competition for the keepers feels as though it has gone out of the window and as much as I like Leno I would probably put Cech back in goal for a bit. Sigh.
Another world class player going out for free. O M G
Unfortunately, retirement never pays any fees…
Well, we call them annuities.
Should be considered as our goalkeeping coach given his vast experience. A premier league legend.
Not while Emery is the manager.
Champion player and personality, hopefully he will go out on a high.
Wonder if we are already eyeing up a replacement?
Plus side it’s a big chunk off the wage bill that won’t need to be spent on a direct replacement
Clearly not his decision as he was talking about sitting down to discuss a new contract recently.
Good luck Petr…top man.
Think people are very quick to say he was in decline when we signed him; he was excellent in his first season. I actually think poor goalkeeping coaching (Woj and Fab might testify) brought down his level over the last couple of years until we overhauled the coaching team this summer. People are quick to say he didn’t adapt to the passing style but also forget he was making outstanding saves and winning us points right up until his injury a couple of months ago. He will be sorely missed, a top player and an absolute gent. Enjoy retirement Petr,… Read more »
People remember that error he made in his first game for us so it’s easy to say he was in decline
I agree with you. He was brilliant for us in his first 2 years. Even last year when he regressed slightly he was still a more than able keeper and frankly even today I feel far safer with him than Leno. I will always maintain one of Wenger’s biggest mistakes was selling Szczesny.
Its easy to say he was in decline, which just also happens to be dead wrong. I think you mean.
I had this strange dream of a three man band of Petr on the drums, rosicky on guitar and arteta on the vocals. Would buy tickets for that. You know what you have to do Mr.Petr
One of the most dignified and classy people to have ever played for this club, and I’m not saying that lightly, many could (and should) take a leaf out of his book in terms of carrying themselves and communicating to others.
And to think he spent so many years in that cesspool the other side of town, character building I suppose.
I think that during his time in the Premier League, Cech demonstrated that he was one of the best goalkeepers of his generation.
He just had this aura of invincibility, and looked unbeatable.
However, to my eyes, he was never quite the same player once he returned from his head injury, although he remained a very good goalkeeper.
Anyway, thanks for your service, Petr Cech, and good luck in your post-Arsenal career.
Best of luck to him of course but when
he says “hopefully win one more trophy”
…….I was kind of hoping for 2 cups this season Petr.
You mean, we’re out the title race?
I love Cech and wish him well. I hope he goes into coaching.
In hindsight, we’d have been better off keeping Fabianski and Szcz. I don’t think Leno is better than either of them.
We got Cech from Chelsea, they got Giroud from us. Based on performances alone, we got the better deal.
Model professional and an all-round gent and wish him the best for the future! On another note, I’m not really sure what’s happening with regards to a number of positions, but GK is potentially another area that we need to address with shrewdness. Leno: Current no. 1 (jury’s out for now) Ospina: On loan but into the final 18 months of his contract Martinez: 26 years old and has mostly spent his career on loan Macey: Currently on loan in League One. At 24 though, when do we make a decision on his long-term future? I’m not sure how good… Read more »
Get him a role in the coaching staff. Was obviously past his peak when we signed him and barely saw him in top form.
Made many costly errors but overall a great pro. Wish him all the best…
Our defence managed to cut Cech down to size pretty quickly. Good guy though and my favourite memory is the Arseblog picture of him in a Stetson as alternative headgear.
A proper professional. Best wishes to him. Loved it when he gave it to shit face Mike Dean, after that cheaty draw v wba.
LOL! Yes, a yellow card for asking the totally credible question, “hey Mr. Dean, why are you such a f-up?”
I would extend him another season with us. He’s on 100K wages So freeing up the money is useful. BUT if we cannot find a keeper of comparable stature and ability, we should just keep him. BC we will have about 280K in wages (maybe more if we can off load Ospina and Lucas Perez…and Jenkinson) freed up by KOscielny, Lichsteiner and Welbeck. But that money may have to go into a Cback, a mid and potentially salary improvements for younger players like Nelson and Iwobi. Retaining and experience keeper like Cech as back up to Leno (who is OK… Read more »
He’s retiring. There’s no keeping him.
Yeah! Missed the point there. Arsenal are not “letting him go” the man himself has decided to stop playing.
No point keeping another on the staff who does not play we have enough of those already!
He is for now better than Leno.