page_title: Petr Čech
section_title: 2018–19 season and retirement
hierarchical_section_title: Petr Čech / Club career / Arsenal / 2018–19 season and retirement
caption_attribution_description: فارسی: مسابقه چلسی و آرسنال، فینال لیگ اروپا ۲۰۱۹
context_page_description: Petr Čech is a Czech former professional footballer who is a technical and performance advisor for Chelsea, and who also plays semi-professional ice hockey as a goaltender for Guildford Phoenix. Čech played as a goalkeeper and has been described by numerous players, pundits and managers as one of the greatest goalkeepers in European history. He is argued, alongside Peter Schmeichel, to be the greatest goalkeeper in Premier League history.
  Čech began his senior career at Chmel Blšany in 1999, where he played sporadically for two seasons prior to relocating to domestic superpower Sparta Prague in 2001. At age 19, Čech became a first team regular, and his single campaign with the club was fruitful, as he registered a league record of not conceding a goal in 903 competitive minutes. This led to his first move abroad, when he relocated to France to join Ligue 1 side Rennes for a fee of €5.5 million in 2002.
  In France, Čech starred in an under-performing team, and was the subject of a then club-record transfer for a goalkeeper when he moved to Premier League side Chelsea for a fee of £7 million in 2004.
context_section_description: Čech started the season as the first choice in goal for new manager Unai Emery, but later lost his place to new signing Bernd Leno after suffering a hamstring injury during a match against Watford. On 15 January 2019, Čech announced via open letter on Twitter that he would retire at the end of the season. On 29 May, he made the final appearance of his career in Arsenal's 4–1 defeat to his former club Chelsea in the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final.
caption: Čech during his final game as a player, the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final
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