The Czech international stopper will make his debut against his
ex-team mates on August 2nd in the Community Shield curtain raiser after
sealing a switch across the capital.
Cech ends his 11-year stay at
Stamford Bridge, after
telling Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich that he wanted to leave the club to
continue playing first team football.
Cech's deal is thought to be worth £100,000-a-week,
making him the highest paid goalkeeper in the history of the club, as well as one of the
highest paid in the Premier League.
The 33-year-old is delighted to have made the move
and speaking to the club's official website he admitted he cannot wait to get
started.
What is about Arsenal that made
you want to join the club?
I would say the approach. In the first meeting we had, I spoke
to the manager, Arsene Wenger, and obviously it was a big difference because I
am as hungry as ever and have the same motivation and commitment to win
trophies as I had 10 or 15 years ago and as a kid.
Having spoken to him, I believe I will find a team that wants to
be successful and wants to challenge the best in Europe. It is an exciting
project for me.
Having spent 11 successful years
at Chelsea, it must have been a tough decision to leave?
It was probably the hardest decision for me to go, but last year
I realised that I am not in a phase of my career when I would sit on the bench.
I want to be playing, I want to have a chance to compete for my position in the
team and I want to be useful for the team and do the usual stuff on the pitch
week in, week out.
I hope I will have that possibility to compete for my place here
at Arsenal and I hope that I can bring something a little extra to the team
that can help.
You know the Premier League very well and you know London
very well. Do you think that will be a big advantage for you?
Well I believe that the Premier League is the best league in the
world and having played in the Premier League for such a long time, it is to my
advantage and I know what to expect.
This year I will be at a different club but I think it can be a
big advantage for me that I’m settled, I know what to expect in almost every
ground in England with the style that is played. It is a great challenge to be
playing against the best players in the world and I always wanted to play in
the Premier League and be a part of this league.
To have an opportunity to continue in a team that has the
motivation to challenge for the title and challenge the best teams was a
challenge for me and I have to say that once I spoke to Arsene Wenger about the
ambitions and motivations this club has, my decision was clear because I wanted
to be a part of it.
How influential was Arsene Wenger in your decision to join
Arsenal?
I had a good chat with him and it was the first time after the
club approached me that I could speak to him in private for such a long time.
He made me believe that this was the right step and that this is the club with
a lot of ambition.
I have a lot of personal motivation and ambition and the club
definitely matches it. It is an exciting time for me, it is a project where
Arsenal fans and the club have been waiting for the Premier League title and
this is a chance for me to bring my experience and my little extra to the team
and we can possibly achieve that.
Have you spoken to Tomas Rosicky about the club much and if
so, what has he told you about it?
Yes, we have spoken - obviously we had time together with the
national team but at the time I did not know what would happen. But he seems
happy always and he loves playing for Arsenal. He was excited about the idea
that this could happen.
He told me a lot of good things and he was one of the reasons
why I decided to give it a go and meet with Arsenal. Then the discussions went
on and here we are today! I am really happy it happened that way.
You have a chance to prove that because your first
competitive game could be against Chelsea…
I think the script couldn’t have been written in a better way
for the fans because this will be one of the days [that is] very exciting and
very strange at the same time. I have to say, having been with Chelsea for 11
years and having so much success and great memories, I guess it will be a very
strange feeling to be on the other side.
Once you’re on the pitch, you play for your team and you want to
win. During the year you can play against friends, you can play against big
friends and close friends but once you are on the pitch, this friendship goes
away and you just focus on winning the game.
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