Wenger had major doubts over Cech signing

But Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri insists he isn’t concerned about the apparent loss of form of England striker Jamie Vardy, without a goal in six games, and Algeria winger Riyad Mahrez, who hasn’t scored in five, as his team’s incredible season reaches a pivotal point.

And ahead of Sunday’s clash with reigning champions Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium, Giroud has warned his side that they can not afford to slip up – and has praised his team for reacting well after losing 4-0 to Southampton on Boxing Day. “He is a kind of coach”, Wenger said of Cech.

Giroud was seen by many as not good enough to lead the Gunners to the Premier League title, but the burly forward has improved markedly over the last 12 months. “He is the camera behind the team”.

“I didn’t know what kind of shape he was in physically because he hadn’t played”. “When I met him I was quickly reassured of his desire to do well and his motivation”.

“They are not in this title race but I know the quality of their team”.

“I have huge respect for him as a player and as a man. I have shared the dressing room with him for many years and won an very bad lot of trophies with him”.

“It was a question of physically can he still do it?” I have a high opinion of him. I experienced that with him [during his first caretaker spell in 2009] when we were looking on the computer about how players’ feet were standing when they took a shot to guess whether the ball will curve to the left or the right.

“You cannot measure it”, he said when asked if Cech could prove to be worth 12-15 points.

“Yes”, said the Chelsea manager.

If City are to claim the title for the third time in five seasons, they will need to ensure a clean bill of health for their first-choice striker, who finished top scorer previous year with 26 goals. “At certain moments as a club, you have to make a decision”, he said.

After the “goodbyes” of last summer, there was still an unexpected “hello” on Wednesday when Cech called into Chelsea’s Cobham training ground to collect a delivery of his goalkeeping gloves that had been dispatched to his old address. It was already late afternoon.

“They made a decision because this upcoming young man had to play as well”.

We can infer from Wenger’s wisdom that Cech is afforded not only a fine perspective on the game but that he also has the wit to communicate what he sees.