Petr Cech says he’s been impressed by the work done this season by Unai Emery and his coaching staff, and believes they’ve laid foundations to build on.
The veteran keeper, who is retiring at the end of the season, says securing Champions League football by winning the Europa League will help speed up the progress.
Financially, the benefits are huge. Without wanting to make anyone sick, Sp*rs will earn €102m for reaching the final this season, and another €4m if they win it ??????.
In contrast, Arsenal lifting the Europa League would generate somewhere in the region of €25m for the entire campaign, so you can see how vital it is that we get back in there, and why the last few weeks have been so frustrating after we blew the chance to finish in the top four.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s game against Valencia, Cech said, “As a coaching staff, they have done really well.
“They have built a solid foundation for next season and the years coming. Obviously, it will depend on how well they are going to do but the way Unai works and his team, they are on the right way.
“We have done pretty well and we can have a great achievement if we win the Europa League, which will be the ultimate thing for everybody now.
“It will be helped if we win the Europa League because you go to Champions League and that makes things easier for everyone.
“Unai is building those foundations where the club should improve. I genuinely believe there is a positive future coming.”
Let’s hope that we can see evidence of that again this evening, and that we ensure we have the twin prizes of the Europa League to play for at the end of May.
We all want Liverpool to win the CL final right? I mean one team has to win it…
Well, I would love us to beat Spurs in the UEFA Super Cup in August; that would go down as one of the historic nights in Arsenal’s history.
are you on drugs?!? can’t have that lot winning the champions league!
Richie what are you talking about you melon?
Spurs cannot win the Champions League ever.
Let alone when we’re in 6th place with our bags round our ankles, trying our hardest not to razz a 3-1 lead up the wall away in the Mestalla.
I would happily take a loss in the semi final tonight, if that meant Spurs take an absolute shoeing in the Champions League final at the hands of Liverpool.
The bin dippers have to prevail.
Mmmmh. It just maybe a dramatic UCL final.
That’s like wanting them to win the league and us winning the fa cup so we can beat them at the charity shield
Yes that team HAS to win it
Urgh…yes.
Unfortunately.
Worse case scenario is Liverpool wins the league, Spurs wins CL, Chelsea win the europa, we are out of top 4 again with nothing.
We can only control our own destiny now which is to beat Valencia and get to the finals with a shout against Chelsea winning.
Otherwise what a horrid season.:P
Stay positive!!!
I’m a Dutch gooner, Ajax and Arsenal are what has brought me joy in football over the years. Young talent, attacking positive football is what I love about both teams. Yesterday was a double heartbreak for many reasons, as I’m sure you can image. The only thing that could give me some comfort is Liverpool absolutely smashing Sp*ds in the final. What I don’t understand though, is that not a single Ajax is player is named a transfer target for Arsenal. Ziyech, Neres, vd Beek (he would be the perfect Ramsey replacement) have not even been mentioned once. I understand… Read more »
I think players you mentioned, we cannot afford them. After successful UCL campaign, their value is gonna skyrocket and I don’t think we have cash to compete with other teams.
If we cant afford 2nd level Ajax guys….
That Champs money will go towards paying off 10% of the stadium bill. Meh.
We’ll be back.
“Financially, the benefits are huge. Without wanting to make anyone sick, Sp*rs will earn €102m for reaching the final” and “In contrast, Arsenal lifting the Europa League would generate somewhere in the region of €25m for the entire campaign, so you can see how vital it is that we get back in there, and why the last few weeks have been so frustrating” Meh. Respectfully Blogs, I don’t agree with this logic at all. Football is still about the thrill of victory. Those Ajax players collapsed on the turf weren’t thinking about money, and I don’t think money is the… Read more »
It must be something that only the players see. As far as the view from the outside is concerned, everyone will be starting from scratch next season.
We are weaker defensively, in possesion and somehow, we have also become bad attacking wise. I hope there is something brewing in the training grounds that is waiting to be unleashed next season, because if we don’t win the Europa League, we would wasted a season from having our worst season in a really long time.
Dont you dare to use logic here and not drown in the ‚its all fucking great and beautiful’ ideology.
I’m not too sure about this… If you had offered this at the start of the season I would think most people would accept it as a good job by Emery, however, with the capitulation I fear if we don’t pull through and win the Europa league the mental brittleness of the squad will continue into next year. But if we win I think everybody will forget about the torrid end of the season and enjoy the sweet popcorn of the Champions league, rather than the salty bollocks being forced down our throats now. F***ing salty Europa league popcorn. No… Read more »
I don’t think it’s the results, capitulation or the league position that has taken hope out of many fans, it’s the performances. Game by game, it’s frustrating to watch and there isn’t really any semblance of what the future holds, but somehow we have come this far. It’s actually a miracle if our performances can be taken into account. We have been very bad tactically and teams let us get away with a lot at home. Our XG is lower and our XG conceded is higher. We are statistically and based on the eye test, very bad. But we have… Read more »
Yes sometimes we are bad, but sometimes we are good – which is why we still have a chance in Europe. And everytime we looked like settling into a good rhythm, we had catastrophic injuries. Before Ramsey’s injury we conceded 1 goal in 8 games. But it’s not just losing Ramsey – it’s having to replace him with Xhaka. Sokratis’ disciplinary issues and Koscielny’s health could’ve been manageable with a fit Holding as backup, instead we had to draft Mustafi back in from the bench (which was his best position). We’re still consistently inconsistent because we didn’t do enough to… Read more »
We’ve been on a similar road before, that season where we got hurt 6-3, 5-1, 6-0, 3-0 by the big sides was a poor campaign then all we had was the final against Hull which we won. After we won we completely forgot about everything else we suffered that year, we bought Sanchez and turned over a new leaf. Now we have a bigger rebuilding job but I still believe I’m the path we’re on.
It leaves a sick taste in the back of my mouth when I think of the spuds right now so I’m going to paint my bathroom when that CL final is played as it would be to stressful to watch and if they some how fluke it I have the bonus of a nice clean bog to puke and cry in.
Fuck off with your lies. This club is finished
I’m all for positivity but I just don’t see this solid foundation at the club. Let’s forget about the leadership structure that was put in place at the top of the club and lasted all of 90 seconds, and look at the squad itself. At the beginning of the season Emery named 5 captains; Cech, Ramsey, Kos, Ozil and Xhaka. The first two are leaving for nothing and the third is 33 (until he turns 34) and has an ankle that is being held together by cellotape and used bubblegum. That leaves the last two; a player that the manager… Read more »
Hmmm. This is an interesting one. – Have we seen a style of play or philosophy from this team this season. Not really, against the big sides at home we’ve pressed and have shown intensity but have mostly relied on laca and aubameyamg when scoring and building attacks. We’ve seen our defenders and midfielders shift the ball sideways rather than be as direct as an arsenal team should be. – Have we instilled a template of how to play away from home and win? No, a slight improvement from last year but you’d have to say Emery should have done… Read more »
Pretty much a lot of the things he was doing was being done by Wenger. The back 3, two up top rotating with the attacking mid. Its the hand he has been dealt with the squad for most parts. He paid better attention to details and was quicker to change things around when it was not working with good impact for most parts. But toward the end (and in the spell around Xmas), he lost his way a bit. Whether it was for concerns in terms of squad durability is hard to say but the back 4 against Palace, Wolves,… Read more »
A good point you have mentioned there which is why I have sympathy for him is the squad durability. Even though we were getting away with results and went on that run in beginning of season it was impressive how he knew how to rotate with Holding, Welbeck, Mhki, Laca, Auba etc.
Then we started picking up those injuries and since then it has just been a case of making the best of what he’s got like you said. Either way it’s gonna be interesting this summer with so many players leaving the team to see how he rebuilds.
I think so. Unless we win the Europa, its still an underwhelming season particularly the tepid finish to the league with an opportunity to finish above Spurs in our grasp and gifted by them but not taken. Partially he may have hit the limits of the squad. But its beyond just Mustafi or Granit, there are other players equally if not poorer in performance. And we carry a lot of dead weight like Jenkinson, Elneny, Lichsteiner. So he has had to try and use them but mostly rotate through a smaller squad with injuries. Plus there is still fundamental capabilities… Read more »
Write shorter, or start your own blog, please.
Or dont read what he writes.
We need someone higher up to work with Unai.
I don’t see anything from Raul or the executives.
Unai needs a ‘bad cop’ to help him ‘motivate’ the squad.
Arsene had Gazidis somewhat but we really need someone who can say we are willing to spend to replace in ALL positions this summer.
Players are too comfortable otherwise.
That was where Fergie excelled. He had no time for lack of effort and would replace even his top star if need be.
We can’t even say that Emery has a budget for the summer.
The last few weeks have been very frustrating but come Sunday we could be in the Europa League final and finish 5th in the league, which would inarguably be an improvement on last season. We could then take it a step further and win the Europa League, meaning it would be a HUGE improvement over last season.
However, come Sunday we could also be out of the cup and finish 6th which would be no better than last season.
It’s so delicately poised and I’m absolutely bricking it.
To be fair Atletico were a stiffer test than anything we have faced this season and Aubameyang was cup tied
If we had come up against them this year we would likely go out again
Juergen kpopp bad luck in finals will hand Tottenham the Champions League…trust me Tottenham will be champions of Europe..it’s alright to feel bad about it and it’s alright to feel jealous but deep down we all know they deserve it if they win it… They worked hard for it…..i hate Tottenham but i speak the truth and I appreciate hardwork and never say die attitude…they fought for the badge of their club….the players cared.. give credit where it’s due.. Let’s show the class which this club is known for by applauding the Tottenham players and fans when they arrive at… Read more »
Is that you, Harry?
Ok I vengefully agree with some points but applauding then as Champions of Europe???
I vomited in my mouth a bit, pls take such statements far away from here.
In my mind a solid defence is a foundation. We do not have that.
I don’t want a mourinho style clean sheet above all else but far more balance would be nice
Spuds scoring that late goal made me sick.
I don’t see the spuds beating Liverpool