adminLONDON. — Chelsea have told Petr Cech he can decide upon his next move, as Arsenal monitor his situation. The 32-year-old has ceded the number one gloves to Thibaut Courtois this term, and speculation has mounted he could be heading to Arsenal.
It was initially thought that Arsenal were lining up a £7m bid to prise Cech from Stamford Bridge, with doubts persisting over Wojciech Szczesny’s future at the Emirates.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the 32-year-old can choose his next move.
They also cite reports in Italy that Roma want to sign Cech. However, Mourinho would be reluctant to sanction a move considering they have just let Mark Schwarzer join Leicester.
Only last month, Cech’s agent Viktor Kolar ruled out a move for his client when he said: “It’s unlikely Petr will leave Chelsea in the January transfer window. The club and coach want to keep him to help win the title.
“I think Arsenal should have made an offer to him. I think Petr would be considering it.
“Liverpool need to strengthen their position in goal and they know Petr will be available in the summer.”
Arsenal could now be forced to delay a move until the summer for Cech, who has enjoyed a near 11-year glittering spell with the Blues.
Meanwhile, the father of Wojciech Szczesny has labelled Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker “a rhinoceros” as he declares that his son should not be singled out for the Gunners’ defensive failings.
Szczesny has come under staunch criticism in the past seven days, after errors on both goals saw Arsenal lose 2-0 at Southampton, before revelations that he was caught smoking in the showers after the game.
The 24-year-old was subsequently slapped with a £20 000 fine and was replaced by David Ospina for the FA Cup win over Hull.
Maciej Szczesny — himself a former Polish international goalkeeper — says that it is unfair to blame his son.
The elder Szczesny declares that the entire defence are “a disaster”, while particularly deriding German World Cup winner Mertesacker.
He told Polish newspaper Przeglad Sportowy: “He made a mistake for the first [Southampton] goal, coming too far from the goal, but please look at the Arsenal defence – how these guys are playing is a disaster, but for some reason, nobody pays any attention to it.
“Laurent Koscielny should immediately have run [back] to protect Wojciech, and Per Mertesacker should have stood in the goal.
“Unfortunately they did not do that and gave him zero support, and in that situation Mertesacker showed the agility of a rhinoceros.
“Wojciech is often paying for it [the mistakes], and that he really cares. He needs someone who will critically analyse every game with him, but also remain positive.
“Someone should support him, but the coaching staff at Arsenal are not doing that, meanwhile the entire defence this season is an embarrassment.” — The Daily Express.
Online Reporter