PETR CECH has announced that he will be retiring from professional soccer at the end of the season, with the Arsenal goalkeeper to bring an end to a 20-year career.

The vastly experienced goalkeeper feels the time is right to walk away as he has “won every single trophy possible.”

He will turn 37 shortly after the current Premier League campaign comes to a close and admits he will continue to work hard for the Gunners, aiming to win a trophy in what is his final season.

Cech posted in a message on social media Tuesday: “This is my 20th season as a professional player and it has been 20 years since I signed my first professional contract, so it feels like the right time to announce that I will retire at the end of this season.”

Cech started his career at home-town club Viktoria Plzen.

It was, however, at Chmel Blsany that he would make his senior bow and begin to climb the professional ladder. He was handed a debut at just 17 years of age and required a little over 12 months to secure himself a switch to Sparta Prague.

Cech then made his international bow with the Czech Republic in 2002. His next stop was, however, to be France, with two seasons taken in with Rennes. A Premier League transfer finally materialized in 2004, with a 7-million-pound (US$9 million) deal agreed by Claudio Ranieri eventually benefitting Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.

He was eventually forced out of west London by the emergence of Thibaut Courtois, but made the short journey to Arsenal in 2015 in an effort to find a more regular role. (SD-Agencies)