Petr Cech says Arsenal’s players must play precise football and resist the temptation to get emotional during games if they’re to find the consistency necessary for a title challenge.
Citing home defeats to West Ham and Olympiacos as examples of the Gunners getting emotional because of the stymying, deep-lying tactics of their opponents, the 33-year-old touched on the importance of occasionally compromising style for substance.
“We need to be more consistent in the way we put a run together, and avoid the games where you switch off,” he told Sport Magazine.
” I think that’s the only thing, because in terms of the quality of the team and the motivation of everyone, you can see that we can compete with everybody. But we need to make sure that every game we are 100 per cent consistent and focused. Sometimes this is the hardest part.”
“You need to make sure you do the basics right in every game. That gives you the platform to build on – and then, if you don’t have a particularly great day, you can make sure you still get the maximum out of it. At Chelsea we had games where we knew it was not going our way, but we managed to get the most out of it, which was a great skill to have.
“Sometimes you need to stick to the basics and forget about playing the way you want when it’s not going your way. It’s about adapting to the situation better. As I said before, if you go too much with the emotion, you can be punished. I think that’s what happened to us against Olympiakos, with that third goal.”
Admitting that the mistake that overshadowed his debut against West Ham was a result of him attempting to inject energy into a lacklustre team performance, Cech continued:
“We were all raring to go and then the first half was really slow. There was a bit of a lack of rhythm and you think: ‘Let’s put a bit of energy in here.’ So when that ball came [a free-kick by West Ham’s Dimitri Payet], I was thinking: ‘Let’s go and get the ball and make something happen.’ A fast counter-attack, or whatever. And this was where the mistake came, because there was no way I could have got this ball.”
“I wanted to do something extra, but this usually goes wrong. You shouldn’t do things that are extra; you should do things the precise way and not try to do something you don’t have to. You learn in every moment, even at 33. And, in a way, you surprise yourself because this has never happened to me before. I’m always good at keeping myself focused on doing what I need to do.”
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You can read the full Sport Magazine interview with Cech here.
This is why the boss wanted this man in the team. A level headed contributor. Now that he have bedded in, it pays to listen to him. I see a bit of Arteta coolness in Cech, which is very welcoming
Also, his signing would help us rub it in Chelsea fans and Mourinho’s face when he helps us win the title this season.
Cech is a massive signing. It blows my mind it has taken us 10 odd years to sign a top drawer keeper. I remember the days when Almunia would literally hand out goals to opposing teams as if he was working at a butchers stall in a Spanish food court handing out free samples of Chorizo. The guy was hilariously bad, he was so out of his depth in The Premier League I genuinely felt bad for him. But it is such a refreshing change to see a ball heading towards our goal mouth now, and to not be totally… Read more »
Great post, how you got a thumbs down for it is beyond me. Must be a Chelsea supporter who did that lol.
Mourinho in July – sells 33 year old keeper to title rival.
Mourinho in October – signs 33 year old keeper on a free as backup to the keeper he signed in the summer to sit on the bench.
Realy refreshing to see a guy- in particular a footballer- not only own up to a mistake but explain why it happened. Pretty rare.
Now we know – Arsenal can suck because they want to be good too much.
What consenting adults do in their own time is their business.
I totally agree . How often do you see huge quotes like this from a player , speaking so intelligently and open ?
If he can bring a bit of that old Chelsea resilience I’ll take that every day , it looks like he didn’t bring any of the cuntishness with him luckily
Not just any player, one of the top 3 best goalies the EPL has ever seen… Pretty rare to be that good and accepting mistakes haha
His Experience might just be the difference this season……..
Hilariously, the lack of his professionalism, level headedness, experience and calmness in the dressing room could also be a big reason why Chelsea are imploding right now.
A successful Chelsea has never known a dressing room without Cech.
That’s not strictly true you know. They won the 1st Division in 1954-55, and then their dressing room was led by their manager Ted Drake.
Only an Arsenal Great could turn Chelsea in to a League Winning Team without billions in oil money to help him.
So then Cech is saying to himself to cut his emotions off?
No, Cech is pointing out what he sees as the way for the squad to reach the level they need to be at to be successful. Then to emphasize that he’s not just pointing fingers, he shares an example from his own play. Cech also implies that it’s a big temptation to become emotionally caught up in the match flow, and an easy trap to fall into since it’s borne of good intentions. This takes some of the blame and pressure to be perfect off his teammates, and also may serve as a reminder of his words in those times.… Read more »
Very good comment that sums up nicely what cech said. Wise words from our WC goalkeeper.
ehm…. whose the captain again?
The man who rallied the troops prior to 3-0 win v Man U. Arteta.
I have bags of respect for Mikel for his professionalism and performing his captain’s duties with the squad admirably all the while not raising negativity at not getting much playing time.
If (when) Cech is with us for a while I can certainly see the potential. But our captain is Mikel, and he’s a very honorable one at that.
Cool!
Hopefully he will become our next captain.
If he can break the track record of past captains Gallas, Cesc, RVP, Vermaelen then I’m all for it. We haven’t done very well there in the last ten years, bar Arteta, and he may be off at the end of the season/contract. He might have to fight the BFG for it.
One is a captain in deed, not in name.
Thus, some previous Arsenal players were never captains (Fabregas, Gallas).
Fabregas, no matter how cuntish he has become right now, was a captain material in my book. The defining moment was when he came in as sub on 57 minutes in a home game against Aston Villa, carrying a hammy, scored two goals, then limping off the field to be subbed by other player at 84 minutes. Not much of a talker, but he lead the team by example of his desire and intelligence.
Maybe I’m missing the context of this game, but wouldn’t playing with an injury, particularly to such a creative player, exacerbate that injury and cause a longer lay off? Short term gain vs long term damage?
Same thoughts on the penalty he took against Barca in which he broke his foot. Did he really need to do that? Or maybe I’m being too harsh on a exuberant youth making emotional decisions in the heat of the moment. But these are the types of situations leaders and captains distinguish themselves in.
Gallas also was captain material in a way. He had a winning mentality at Marseille, Chelsea, french national team even with us to a moderate extent. He would go to opponent box in a very very difficult game and snick in a goal with his knee, thigh etc… He did it over and over at Marseille and Chelsea. I think that was the reason Arsene put him as a captain.
Btw, this is what he had to say about being benched in Champions League and Ospina’s mistake : Q: “Although in Premier League you are constantly being in the starting XI, you’ve watched both lost Champions League duels from the bench. Did manager Wenger talk to you why he didn’t pick you?” A: “I knew in advance that I won’t be playing. It’s a manager’s decision which I have to respect. Of course I wanted to play, but with the number of difficult matches during season in big clubs, it is not possible to play every game. I think there… Read more »
Fantastic self awareness and evaluation. Ultimate professional. Another piece of the jigsaw puzzle
Spoken like a man with proven experience. I like him a lot.
Wise words from a very experienced keeper. Hope it rubs off on the rest of the team. Mourinho must be crying in his sleep by now.
Are you sure Mourinho is sleeping at the moment?
He should be out on that training field teaching his fantastically deep squad of home-developed academy kids how to take over from the crappy old cunts in their 1st team in time for next weekend.
He hasn’t got any, I hear you say?
Then he should be marshalling some of the dozens of new young talents he’s bought recently and grooming them to take over.
They’re all on season long loans, you say?
You don’t sleep when you’ve fucked up this badly.
Interesting to hear one of our players talk in a bit of detail about the mindset of the team. Usually it’s the more generic statements after a defeat or even a win, something along the lines of “we must improve” or “we must keep this up”. Cech really adds a different dimension to the squad, a proven track record with a fantastic winner’s mentality; I really think he can be a guiding force for the team this year. I’m not even fussed that he mentioned Chelsea and I bloody hate Chelsea because that is what we need to do, you’re… Read more »
I’ve never disliked anything in football more than Abramovich’s Chelsea and everything that surrounds it, but I’ve always liked Cech.
I’m glad we have him.
True. I’ve hated everyone there except for Cech. Never looked like a villain.
It’s the first time ever that an Arsenal player says something deep , meaningful and REAL. Unlike our usual, ass kissing players to each other’s and we will need to get a momentum on our back (without saying how?) and bounce back and paper talk like this.
Welcome Cech & thank you Wenger for bringing him on the team!
Aguero broke his hamsting ting…
While Alexis keeps on scoring
don’t celebrate left, there’s a lot of interlull remaining! just hoping that for once they all come back in one piece…
Real football’s all well and good, but he’s fucked up my Fantasy team though :c
He is wearing that magneto helmet and professor x has got nothing on him.
Top comments from a top player. Interesting that he talks about “controlling emotion” while over in Liverpool they have just secured the services of a manager who demands nothing but emotion. I gotta admit, I’m kinda jealous about the Kop getting their Klopp. Time will tell whether he’s “the one that got away”.
I already like Klopp. In his first press conference, in a thinly veiled dig at Moronho’s first press conference, he referred to himself as “the normal one”!
Avram Grant did that years ago. Klopp lacks originality.
The bit where he predicted success in four years was hysterical, given that he’s signed a contract for, er, three years……
Cech, Arteta, Mertesacker,Rosicky – Calm and experience.
Ozil, Cazorla, Alexis – skill and wow factor.
Bellerin, Koscielny, Gabriel, Monreal – defensive solidity.
Ramsey, Coquelin, Wilshere – grit and boundless energy.
Walcott, Welbeck – Speed.
Gibbs, Flamini, Debuchy, Giroud, Chambers, Ospina – great back-up when needed.
I love the composition of this team – a rich blend of youth, skill, energy, speed and experience.
We can wrestle the EPL from installed favourites City.
superb cech
How on point is this guy? Already a better pundit than many. For those who don’t see a keeper affects the way a team play, his elaboration of his mistake against west ham should give you some insight. What a bloke, the team can only learn from such an experienced player.
36m for Martial according to media is money well spent. What’s 35m for Alexis? 55m for De Bruyne according to vacuous media is money well spent. What’s 42.3m for Ozil? People would rather have Klopp who lost and got kicked out of CL not to mention ran away from his troubles at Dortmund than Wenger who has been consistent at a high level for close to two decades. Nobody believed Wenger could go a season unbeaten. They did not believe Wenger when he said Walcott could function as CF much as he said Henry could before. Bellerin, Coquelin, Monreal, Gabriel… Read more »
This guy is damn good. Let’s harvest his experience and grab the trophy this season. Let’s be dynamic, get goals and not style. The end justifies the means.
“…this has never happened to me before.” Haha. Sure buddy, don’t worry about it.
“I wanted to do something extra, but this usually goes wrong. You shouldn’t do things that are extra; you should do things the precise way and not try to do something you don’t have to.”
Hope Ramsey was listening and simplifies his game as that is when he is at his best.