Petr Cech to Arsenal? Chelsea will never let him move to Emirates

Ray Wilkins says newly crowned champions won't allow transfer to rival

(GETTY IMAGES)

Chelsea will not allow Petr Cech to move to Arsenal, claims former Blues player and coach Ray Wilkins.

Goalkeeper Cech is expected to leave Stamford Bridge this summer having been forced to play understudy to Thibaut Courtois this season. Having convinced the long-serving Stamford Bridge No 1 to remain for the current campaign, Jose Mourinho has conceded he can't continue to keep the Czech from regular minutes on the pitch.

At 32-years-old, Cech is considered to have many years ahead of him and coupled with his near faultless displays over a decade at Chelsea, he is in great demand this summer.

Among those linked have been Arsenal. Regular No 1 Wojciech Szczesny was relegated to the bench earlier this season when a string of poor displays were compounded by being caught smoking in the changing rooms. Understudy David Ospina has been impressive, but has failed to convince he is the long-term solution at Arsenal.

Wojciech Szczesny (GETTY IMAGES)

However, the Gunners' hopes of signing Cech could be hit from a reluctance by Chelsea to sell to Premier League rivals. That's the view of Wilkins who has had two caretaker spells as manager of Chelsea and worked as a coach at the club.

"If you look at Chelsea’s actions over the last few years, with the likes of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou, they were all sold outside the country so they couldn’t do any damage to the club in the Premier League.

"Jose Mourinho will do the same with Petr Cech," he told TALKSport.

There won't be a shortage of options for Cech if Chelsea do in fact force him to move abroad.