Arsenal fans were fooled this week by a fake statistic about Petr Čech’s form with the club and former employers, Chelsea.
According to the stat, which fans widely shared on social media, Čech conceded 189 goals in 11 years with his former club, but 172 in just 3 years with Arsenal.
Unsurprisingly, it seems a Chelsea fan was responsible for starting the rumour:
Petr Cech at chelsea: conceded 189 goals in 11 years
Petr Cech at arsenal: conceded 172 goals in 3 years #cfc pic.twitter.com/UgA0ss04fI
— Hiffey (@PsychoCesc) March 1, 2018
If true, the record would be pretty damning and highlight the goalkeeper’s quick decline and Arsenal’s poor defending.
The reality is, however, that the figures are completely wrong.
According to transfermarkt.com, Čech conceded 393 goals during his time with Chelsea, and 120 (so far) with Arsene Wenger’s side.
A number of Arsenal fans picked up the stat and re-posted it without bothering to check its accuracy:
Petr Cech at chelsea: conceded 189 goals in 11 years
Petr Cech at arsenal: conceded 172 goals in 3 years
— now.arsenal (@nowarsenaI) March 1, 2018
Petr Cech at Chelsea:
Seasons: 11
Goals conceded: 189Petr Cech at Arsenal:
Seasons: 3
Goals conceded: 172.RAPUH!
— ـ Vs Milan | 16/3 Jum'at 03:05 WIB (@goonerszone) March 1, 2018
Petr Cech at Chelsea:
Seasons: 11
Goals conceded: 189Petr Cech at Arsenal:
Seasons: 3
Goals conceded: 172— ArsenAl / z0rKie (@zorkAFC) March 2, 2018
Even though rival supporters made these numbers up, his actual figures are still cause for concern.
The 393 goals he conceded with Chelsea came across 494 games at an average of 0.8 goals per game.
Compare that to the 120 he’s let in with Arsenal in just 109 games, a rate of 1.1 goals per game.
Then there’s the fact Arsenal and Čech haven’t kept a league clean sheet since December 16th. That’s two-and-a-half months ago now spanning 11 games – their longest run without stopping the opposition from scoring since the Premier League began.
Things aren’t as bad as the Chelsea fans would like us to believe, but that’s not saying much, really.