Robbie Savage has hailed Petr Cech as the best signing of the summer transfer window after the goalkeeper inspired Arsenal to Community Shield glory on Sunday.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger managed to prise the 33-year-old shot-stopper from Jose Mourinho’s grasp after Arsenal struck an £11m deal with the Premier League champions last month.
Goalkeepers can get you 10 points a season and Cech could get Arsenal that many
Robbie Savage
Cech appears to have made an immediate impact on his new team-mates after he helped to mastermind a clean sheet in the 1-0 win against Chelsea, who rarely threatened a resilient Arsenal outfit aside from Eden Hazard’s second-half chance at Wembley.
And BT Sport pundit Savage believes four-time Premier League winner Cech will help to improve Wenger’s defence over the coming months.
“He is the best signing so far,” Savage told The Sport Review, speaking at a BT Sport media event to launch the broadcasters football coverage for the coming season.
“Since Jens Lehmann, they’ve had seven goalkeepers.
“They can get a settled back four who can hopefully play every week, and with him behind them, he can organise. He is good with his feet and he’s confident on crosses. I think he is a massive signing. He is a brilliant signing.”
Former Wales international Savage played with a host of different goalkeepers during a career which saw the midfielder play with seven different clubs.
And the 40-year-old, who won the League Cup with Leicester City in 1999, emphasised the number of additional points a top goalkeeper can earn a side over the course of a season.
“Brad Friedel was magnificent when I was at Blackburn Rovers. Tim Flowers at Leicester,” Savage added.
“He came after winning the league with Blackburn. Goalkeepers can get you 10 points a season and Cech could get Arsenal that many.”
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