Has Cech helped?

We look at Petr Cech’s impact at his new club with the help
of former Arsenal goalkeeping hero David Seaman...
"He will save them 12 to 15 points a season." John Terry's
opinion isn't the first that Arsenal supporters would seek
out but his summer verdict on what Petr Cech could bring
to the club would have had them excited nevertheless.
Arsene Wenger addressed his perceived goalkeeping
weakness in the summer
Last season David Ospina had provided a solution of
sorts, albeit struggling in Arsenal's costly Champions
League defeat to Monaco, while Arsene Wenger appeared
to finally run out of patience with Wojciech Szczesny. But
Cech was seen as a level apart.
This was Arsenal addressing a weakness. According to
Opta, Szczesny made six errors leading to shots last
season - costing his team the game at Southampton. Only
QPR's Robert Green made more and he played more than
twice as many games as the Pole.
Significantly, Szczesny and Ospina's combined tally of
four errors leading to goals was more than any of
Arsenal's rivals among the Premier League's top eight.
Goalkeeping mistakes were holding them back.
Cech was supposed to change that. A goalkeeper of vast
experience, the stats showed that his safe hands had
been blameless in all seven of his Premier League games
for Chelsea the previous season and his reputation for
reliability dated back rather further than that.
As a result, schadenfreude salesmen made a killing when
Cech erred on his debut against West Ham. Such is the
nature of the job, only time will allow the new goalkeeper
to make up for that opening-day mistake.
Cech had been bought to eliminate the errors and he'd
failed at the very first attempt. Confidence would've
been hit and that's a problem for someone in a
leadership role who is expected to inspire others. But the
goalkeeper's response has been impressive.
It's not just Cech's saves that can help Arsenal but the
confidence he gives others
They say reputations take a lifetime to build but only a
split-second (spent failing to claim a routine cross) to
destroy, but it seems that Cech has been unaffected.
"Mistakes will happen," said Per Mertesacker. "But my
feeling is he comes back even stronger."
Retaining that aura was key. And even after such an
alarming start, Hector Bellerin was clearly in deferential
mood. "We are learning a lot from him," said the young
full-back soon afterwards. "When you look back and see
Petr in goal it gives you a lot of confidence."
Confidence. That great intangible. Stats tell part of the
tale. For instance, teams are missing more big chances
against Arsenal this year and Cech boasts a better save
percentage from close-range shots than his rivals. But
they don't reveal how his presence affects others.
Cech's experience is something that helps team-mates
such as Per Mertesacker
The man that Cech might have replaced at the club if
Wenger could have secured a work permit in 2002 feels
the belief that the 33-year-old instils cannot be
overstated. "I think he's brilliant," David Seaman, a
veteran of 564 appearances for Arsenal, told Sky Sports .
"He's quality and he commands respect. He's exactly
what Arsenal needed - a steady, confident player at the
back. He's consistent rather than up and down. Szczesny
would make great saves but he'd also make rash decisions
which would put the back-four on edge.
"He will give the defence more confidence because
they're not always on edge wondering what's going on
behind them. It's the stature of the man. When a player
like that comes in, the squad raise their game in training
to show what they can do."
Cech saves a shot from Christian Benteke in a home game
against Liverpool
Arsenal fans want to see that in matches too - starting
with Sunday's game against Manchester United. Visiting'
goalkeeper David de Gea was the game's decisive figure
in this fixture last season pulling off a string of saves as
United won 2-1 at the Emirates.
Ten months on and the gulf between the two teams'
goalkeepers has been closed on paper. On the pitch,
perhaps this is the moment that Petr Cech shows his new
supporters that he can make a tangible difference this
season too.