‘I Expect To Start On The Bench For The Cup Final’, Admits Arsenal Regular

By The Editor
on 20th February 2018

Petr Cech accepts that he will not start at Wembley on Sunday…

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Arsenal veteran Petr Cech accepts that David Ospina will start between the posts when we line-up to face league leaders Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.

Ospina has played in all the previous rounds leading to the showpiece occasion on Sunday and Arsene Wenger has always maintained a habit of sticking with his ‘cup goalkeepers’.

The Colombian international kept his place in May against Chelsea despite the stakes at play, and it turned out to be a solid decision given his match-winning save against Diego Costa.

“At the start, it was clear that it was going to be like that,” Cech told Sky Sports.

“I will be there with the team supporting but I don’t expect to play. It is always hard to watch any game from the bench or even from the stand if you are not selected.

“As a player, you always want to be involved. But obviously, you are in a professional club where there are 25 top players and the manager always makes his choices for the game and you need to accept that.”

Ospina starting in a major cup final may have had Arsenal fans’ hearts racing in recent years, but Cech’s recent performances have hardly left little to be desired.

The 35-year-old has set pulses shooting for all the wrong reasons in our past two away games in the league, culminating in a horror moment at Swansea as he gifted them the all-important second goal.

The goalkeeper position could be decided at a flick of a coin for all we care for the remainder of the season, highlighting our need for that area to be enforced this summer.