Arsenal’s colossal goalkeeper Petr Cech revealed he would not have joined Arsenal if he did not believe they could win the Premier League.
The 33-year-old is at the peak of his career at the moment as he sets a new Premier League record, keeping 170 clean sheets, beating David James’ previous of 169 clean sheets by 220 fewer games, and the Czech ‘keeper looks keen on gradually extending this record.
Cech made the toughest decision of his career last summer, leaving Chelsea – the side he had so much success at, including winning four Premier League titles – to join Arsenal.
It was not an easy decision but I always wanted to go to a team which could win.
If I didn’t believe that I was going to a team which could win then I don’t know why I would come.
For the former Chelsea goalkeeper, football is all about winning and Arsenal have the right ingredients for the winning recipe: the team is in a good position, despite the unpredictability of the Premier league this season.
I play football, not to only enjoy it and I love the challenge of playing and competing with the best players, but I want to have the chance to win games.
I believe this team has the qualities to win games and hopefully we will manage to go all the way in the league. It’s a very difficult and long run but I believe this team has the capabilities of doing it.
The league is very interesting this year because the table keeps changing every other week.
But as long as we are there in March and are in a position where we can win the league then it’s fine as it will only depend on us.
Cech also believes the attacking forces of the Premier League have widely improved and that is now harder to keep the opposition from scoring than when he first arrived at Chelsea in 2004.
It’s always been hard.
But now, with the modern technology, the balls are faster, people want more goals so the balls are made to fly faster, more unpredictable and more comfortable for the player to shoot.
It becomes trickier because there are elements of the ball that you cannot control and you must make sure you are ready.
Cech revealed the reason behind his impressive form and (unsurprisingly) it’s consistency.
You have to be consistent in your work, consistent in your performances because if not then you might not have as many games as you would like, and the less games you play then less chances to have a clean sheet.
Cech, who’s a natural on the drums, is also a linguaphile: the 33-year-old speaks five languages – Czech, English, French, Spanish and German – and that of course, helps him in communicating with all his teammates.
YouTube: toxicity system of a down drum cover by Petr Cech
I speak to the full-backs in Spanish, to Koscielny in French and to Per in English because for him it is the same as me. He organises people in English. Sometimes foreign players wouldn’t know what you say. That’s when you realise it’s easier to say it in their language than hoping they will understand. It can happen.
The Czech ‘keeper also provided insight into his first Arsenal training session.
I remember the first training with the team after the injury and there was a massive scramble in front of the goal. Everyone was trying to kick the ball, there were boots flying everywhere and I just dived in and grabbed the ball.
Everyone kicked me and they were ‘oh, we weren’t expecting that’. When I play I just play. I don’t think about it all. If I get injured, I get injured. That’s the way it is. You can’t avoid things like that.
Cech also disclosed his game mentality.
During the game I never think about what happens if I make a mistake. I just play. I concentrate on what I have to every second of the game. Then at the end of the game you can sit down and think ‘that was good or that was bad.
