Having gone into their Champions League clash against Bayern Munich knowing anything other than a victory against the intimidating Group F leaders could all but end their European hopes, Arsenal secured what could end up being a crucial 2-0 win against the odds.
While Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil grabbed the all-important goals, it was Petr Cech who kept the intimidating Bayern forward line quiet for 90-plus minutes, laying the foundation for the Gunners to clinch three important points to keep their Champions League dream alive.
Cech had been rested for Arsenal’s previous Group F game against Olympiakos, with David Ospina making at least one costly error against the Greek side that had left Gunners fans questioning Arsene Wenger’s decision to leave out one of the best keepers in the game for a crucial Champions League clash. But the Arsenal manager wasn’t going to take any risks against a Bayern side that had won 11 games on the bounce heading into this match, and Cech more than repaid the Frenchman with an impressive display to ensure the Gunners picked up a huge win.
While the whole Arsenal defence deserved credit for keeping the likes of Robert Lewandowski quiet, it was Cech who frustrated Bayern’s star studded frontline. Having scored 13 goals in all competitions already this season, the Polish striker clearly feels as if he’s going to score in every game he plays. And if it hadn’t have been for Cech, Lewandowski would have almost certainly added to his already incredible goal tally this season. The Bayern forward’s best chance came just minutes before Giroud scored the game’s first goal, with the Poland international watching as his top corner-bound effort was tipped over the bar by Cech.
After a summer in which Cech was the only signing made of any note by Arsenal, the pressure has been on Wenger to prove that he hasn’t missed out again on assembling a squad capable of challenging for honours. Currently just two points off the top of the Premier League table and as short as 12/5 with bet365 at the time of writing to win the title, Arsenal have made an encouraging start to the season and much of their success has been built on having a top quality goalkeeper between the sticks. While Wojciech Szczesny was a solid enough shot-stopper, he didn’t bring the same level of reliability to the Arsenal defence as Cech does, and Arsenal look a much more solid outfit with the former Chelsea man in it.
While the Czech international fell out of favour at Stamford Bridge in his final year at the club following the arrival of Thibaut Courtois, Jose Mourinho was rightly concerned about selling Cech to Arsenal. With the Courtois now ruled out until around Christmas, it’s probably fair to say the Chelsea decision makers are questioning whether it was the right call to sell one of the world’s best goalkeepers to one of their main rivals. For the Gunners, though, this is the first time in a number of years where they are realistically looking at making a charge for the Premier League and Champions League titles, and a lot of that is down to the presence of Cech.
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