by Nia Griffiths

Jens Lehmann has had his say on what Petr Cech’s move from Chelsea will do for Arsenal next season and what the 33-year-old needs to do in order to be a success with the Gunners.

Speaking with the Sun recently, the goalkeeping legend said that the Czech international will have to distance himself emotionally from Chelsea in order to fully immerse himself as an Arsenal player.

Jens Lehmann Arsenal
Jens Lehmann (via Google)

“It’s not easy to suddenly go from Chelsea, where he has spent almost his whole career winning many trophies, to the other side of the capital with a rival.

“Before you can have it in your heart to win titles again, you have to get rid of the love you had before,” he said. “At Chelsea, for Petr, it was his passion and he showed great commitment. But, as a professional, he needs to get over it and needs to know Arsenal want him to win things again for them. Yet, let me tell you, that is not an easy thing to get over psychologically. It can take a few weeks, even a few months.”

Lehmann went on to speak about the rest of the team, hinting that, as someone who knows the players, Cech will gel well with Per Mertesacker on the pitch and this can contribute to being successful.

“With someone in there like Petr, with Per Mertesacker now as captain, they can re-establish this winning attitude and mentality,” he said.

On Saturday, former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton mirrored Lehmann’s view, saying that the Cech needs a strong back four in front of him in order to be truly great. According to the former West Ham man, Cech struggles if he hasn’t got solid defenders in front of him, which I would argue is true for any goalkeeper. However, I’m sure our back four are more than ready to prove to everyone that they’re ready for the challenge.