Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech acknowledged this week that he is uncertain about what the future holds for his playing career. The 36-year-old veteran has remained in place as the starter for the club under new manager Unai Emery, but he also knows that his place as the No. 1 in net is far from secure.
Bernd Leno, who was signed from Bayer Leverkusen over the summer, made his debut for the club in Arsenal’s Europa League clash with FC Vorskla this week. Cech is expected to be back between the sticks once Premier League play resumes, but he says that he has to continue to fight for his spot in the starting XI.
Cech said, “I’m in the last year of the contract so I guess it depends on my performances, the way I play and the way I stay fit throughout the season. Then we’ll see what happens next,” he told the Evening Standard.
Cech added, “I have to work hard not only to make sure the manager picks me for the weekend but as well that he sticks with me.”
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The former Chelsea man insist that he has faced constant competition between the sticks despite the fact that he spent the majority of his career as the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper at Chelsea. He said, “The goalkeeper situation is complicated as only one can play so the competition is bigger and at the moment I’ve been playing and I try to do my best and hope the manager is happy with my performances. I’ve always had great goalkeepers competing with me.”
Cech will be 37 when his contract with the Gunners expires this summer. While his tone indicated that he would prefer to keep playing, he also admitted that he is not yet sure that he would be preferred at Arsenal unless he put some commendable performances this season.
Cech said, “It is a question I don’t know the answer to because I always say the motivation will be the key to how long I’m going to play. I don’t like doing things at 95 percent. I always want to do things at 100 percent and you have to be fit enough to do that. So it’ll be a question of whether my body is fit enough to allow me to do that and if my head is fit, too. If the motivation stays the same, I’d like to carry on.”
With Cech in goal, Arsenal have won 3 and lost 2 through 5 Premier League fixtures. The Gunners were beaten by a pair of league title hopefuls in Manchester City and Chelsea to begin the campaign before rallying for 3 consecutive wins over West Ham, Cardiff City and Newcastle. Cech will likely start against Everton on Sunday.
Cech is in the midst of his fourth season at Arsenal after spending a decade with Chelsea. He began his career with Bisany in the Czech league before signing for Chelsea. He left the Blues for the Emirates in the summer of 2015 on a 4-year deal for a fee near £10 million. Cech left Chelsea after young Belgian international Thibaut Courtois seized the club’s starting job.
