Goalkeeping great David James feels that Arsenal should have signed Asmir Begovic instead of Petr Cech.
The Gunners paid £10.9m to acquire Cech, a four-time Premier League winner, from London rivals Chelsea earlier this summer, and the Blues swooped for Begovic from Stoke City as his replacement.
But former Liverpool and Portsmouth glovesman James, who won 53 England caps between 1997 and 2010, has criticised Arsenal for buying a keeper on the way down rather than one on the way up.
He told talkSPORT: “Petr Cech is a very good goalkeeper but he’s not at his best. At 33 years of age, there’s nothing to say he can’t get back to his best form though.
“If he does then Arsenal still have one hell of a goalkeeper but Chelsea still get £11million for a 33-year-old with one year left on his deal.
“They have gone out and bought Asmir Begovic, who was sought after by many big clubs in the last two or three years, and been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League.
“He’s got age on his side and, alongside Thibaut Courtois, you’ve got two of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League with 15-plus years ahead of them.
“If I was an Arsenal fan I would have been happier to have signed Begovic.”
James, who played in the English top flight until the age of 40, holds the record for Premier League clean sheets with 170, although Arsenal new boy Cech is only three adrift.
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