Seeing off BATE Boris over two legs in the Europa League first knockout round, Arsenal earned themselves a double fixture against Rennes in the next stage of the competition.
Scraping their way through their group, the Ligue 1 side will enter Thursday night’s game as the clear underdogs, which will suit them just fine.
However, other than the fact it is yet another European night for the Gunners, the home leg will be extra special for one of Arsenal’s players: Petr Cech.
The Czech goalkeeper played with Rennes for two years before being transferred to Chelsea, and he has never returned, at least in a football environment.
Speaking to Ouest-France, Christophe Lollichon, who first discovered the shot stopper for the French club, reveals a phone call the two had the night of the draw.
He said: “He was happy. He told me it was amazing and that it’s the draw he wanted. He said: ‘Can you believe it? I’m going to come back to Rennes. It’s great’. To me, it’s football thanking him. It might be a bit cliché, but he deserves it so much. He’s given so much. Paid a big price to football.
“It’s a great return. I don’t believe in chance. People are going to come to the game to watch Arsenal, but also to see Petr Cech, and the welcome will be amazing. He’ll feel it. He’ll hide his emotions, but he’ll be so happy to see so many faces”.
During his two years in France, the now 36-year-old goalkeeper made 78 appearances, conceded 78 goals and picked up 27 clean sheets.
He then followed that with 228 clean sheets in 494 games for Chelsea, conceded 393 goals in the remaining 266 games.
