If the Twitter Universe is to be believed, and by Twitter Universe I mean every writer/reporter/fan associated with football, our beloved Petr Čech is on his way to North London to join Arsenal after over a decade with Chelsea FC. In all likelihood, his first match will come against the Blues as they compete for the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium. For many Blues fans, seeing him between the pipes for Arsneal will be a very difficult pill to swallow.
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I am not one of those fans.
Obviously, I can’t say enough nice things about Čech. He’s been an amazing keeper and leader for Chelsea FC and won every trophy possible. He’s been MOTM in some of the most important matches over the last decade and has done so with class and dignity. He loved football so much that after a life/career threatening injury he still went back out and played with a courage and recklessness needed for the position.
However, the one thing I know I can’t say is the following, “Petr Čech is better than Thibaut Courtois.” I can’t say that, you can’t say that, none of us can say that. Courtois is better than Čech and I don’t think it’s close.
This might be a harsh column to write on the heels of Chelsea losing a true legend in every sense of the word, but our Club is in better hands with Courtois as the #1 (although, I think he’ll keep #13). I’m sure @Feroze17 will make an exceptional tribute video for Čech that will make me wish I hadn’t written this, but I don’t want us to lose sight of the bigger picture; the road to more trophies going forward is with Courtois.
As a side note, I’m totally ok with Čech heading to North London and I think you should be too. He gave everything he could to our club and we should respect his wishes to not uproot his family and stay in London. He’s earned that from us. Sure, I’d rather him be in Paris, but he made a move with his family in mind first and that is commendable.
Back to the larger point and that is Chelsea is in a better position to win trophies through 2019 with Courtois as our first choice keeper. Courtois was phenomenal in net for Chelsea leading the team to a Double in his first full season and, having just turned 23, he’ll only be getting better.
I’m sure I’ll contribute to a “Thank You Čech” post on this very site, and I’m positive it will be about this save, but we fans need to remember that we are in very good hands going forward.
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