Petr Cech says staying focused in training has proved more vital than ever given his lack of first team action.
The 36-year-old started the season as Unai Emery’s first choice keeper but since picking up a hamstring injury in October has had to settle for minutes in the cup competitions.
It’s not clear whether the situation led to his decision to retire but with the summer fast approaching he now knows he has a maximum of two games of his career remaining.
Facing the press ahead of Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Valencia, Cech reflected on a unique season.
“I think the key is in training,” he said of finding form between stints on the bench.
“You keep training at your best and together with my experience, you prepare during the week and even if you play regularly, the key still lies in training.
“If you prepare well then you’ll play well and with all the experience I have, I don’t feel a big difference. I feel prepared for every game.”
If Arsenal squander their two-goal advantage in the Mestalla, that will be it for Cech, however, he’s not allowing such thoughts to come into his head.
“We knew in this campaign we were in this position a few times,” he said.
“We lost the first leg away in Borisov, so the second leg could have been the last game in Europe for me. And then we lost in France, so each round was the same thing.
“Next time, with Napoli, we won at home but we respected the opponent going to Italy and we knew it was going difficult. Tomorrow is the same situation.
“We gave ourselves a two-goal cushion, but you know, two goals with the away goals now is an advantage but it’s not a decisive advantage.
“We can see that in the past and we can see it in the future, ties will get overturned with that deficit because football is about that. We respect the opponent tomorrow and it will be very difficult.
“We were on the right side of those little details when we won 3-1, so we keep our feet on the ground and we know that tomorrow is another difficult 90 minutes.”
Unless you’re shit.
To clarify, not talking about Cech, who is great, but the team as a whole, which is not.
1) Back 3. Back 4 cost us half way through Palace with Mustafi losing plot but also against Wolves with much vaunted Koscielny-Sokratis pairing torn apart, then again against Midland Barca..Leicester and even if we were better in defense swamped in midfield by south coast giants BHA. Back 3 helps push wingbacks forward to compress the space when pressing high with two up front but also prevents their use of width and adds players around our midfield duo. 2) Off side trap on set pieces. Prepare for second ball if it fails, Cech to come out and claim the ball… Read more »
No.
Ozil? Static? More clueless drivel from the resident copy&paster..
bore off!
Is he saying we aren’t preparing properly?
That’s very interesting. A common criticism of Wenger over the majority of his career was that he didn’t prepare for specific opponents yet emery was supposed to be all about preparation
Unai seems to focus on tactical details more but looks like he has made a mistake with back 4 to me over last 4 league games. Interestingly he went with a back 3 for the first leg in europe. Less easy to manage is the psychological aspect. In that Klopp did excellent with Liverpool against Barca. BUT this is one of those more nebulous areas that is harder to manage. Partially it could be down to getting the right tactics, but how to motivate and instill belief, fight and focus in a team (and individuals) is very different form just… Read more »
He wasn’t speaking about the team there, but about himself, seeing as he doesn’t play regularly anymore. Read the article, not just the headline.
There’s only one Harry the Helmet.
Oh my days the nightmare continues!!!! Scum have somehow got to the final!!!! What is the betting chavski will win their game and we get dumped out!!!!
Perfect storm….god forbid. I have to root for Liverpool now for the finals. Either way both will get a massive win fall. Plus Spurts will sell Erickson for money, both will spend in the summer plus City, Chelsea and United. Add on Bayern, Barca, RM, Juve and PSG. Can we really compete with the sort of ambition we have plus if we don’t win the finals, we will see Emery’s pocket money for the summer cut down by you know who. He’s got his work cut out. Good thing we’ve decided to go for a relatively inexperience chap like Edu.… Read more »
Oh man, I’m such a Liverpool fan now for the CL!!!! My 2 bros are Liverpool fans….
If Arsenal and Chelsea progress then all English teams in the finals. Maybe UEFA give us another spot and Arsenal make the CL regardless, haha. One can dream.
We’re Spuds good or did Ajax choke on the pressure? They certainly looked like they were tiring as the match progressed
A definite choke.
Off topic:
For the 2nd night in a row, English teams are showing us up!
Liverpool vs Spuds, how disgusting.
Here we sitting and worrying about away form. We were level on points and ahead of goal difference compared to Chelsea, who are now 3rd. If the manager and squad can put up a good show tomorrow, we just might have a decent finish to the season.
Absolutely disgusting.
BUT…lesson…we need the sort of hunger and belief they have.
Otherwise we will be overturned at the Mestalla even with out lead.
With our current (fragile) mental state, I’m slightly pessimistic for us.
People downvoting this after seeing what the spuds just done. Our acceptance of failure and allowing us and Wengers coddling of shit players since 20008 is why we are wher we are.
I feel sick.
Disappointed finals for Ajax was a Bridge too far.
We ought to try and grab one of their wingers (Ziyech or Neres)
Worse thing is getting to a final nets them about £75 mill over the £50 mill if they get knocked out earlier. This is a nightmare
Ermmmm where are you getting those figures from?! It’s nowhere near that high
It is that high, the winner can expect about 82 million in prize money, the runner up about 75 vs about 60 for reaching the semi finals.
It’s slightly dependent on tv money for the country but the uk is top of that list
Highlights the shit job Wenger did over the years as it hasn’t taken them 20+ seasons and limitless budgets to reach the final.
The truth is I can’t imagine us pulling back a 3-0 deficit, we just don’t have the squad with the heart or spirit to do it. Instead we’ve been left with a squad in Wenger’s image, full of pathetic weakling losers like Ozil!
I remember last season I posted on one story that if Ozil halved the amount of chances he created but doubled his goals and effort, he’d be twice the player. And I was accused of being a typical little Inglander, rambling on about “rannin’ araaand a bit”! But between Liverpool, City and (to a lesser extent) Sp*rs, I hope we can all now see the benefits of a bit of off-the-ball effort matched with guile, directness and genuine mental strength. Say what you will about those teams but as far as I can see, there are no luxury players. No… Read more »
I think the truth is not that football had moved on but more that Wenger had turned off the road of football orthodoxy about 10-15 years ago and was indulged far too long. It was clear he viewed qualities like passion, heart, spirit and even effort and experience as quaint colloquialisms and idiosyncrasies that had little effect on the result.
I have greater hope with Emery since he said that talent wasn’t enough in the premier league, at least it shows some appreciation of the job he has on his hands.
Spurs Liverpool final. Two of my least favorite teams but they are in for big prize money now either way and will be spending in market…as will Chelsea, City and United. Summer getting more complicated as we speak. Ajax crumbled. Hope we can nick one of their wingers in Ziyech or Neres. There will be competition for them though. Plus if we don’t make Europa finals and win it we can kiss spending money goodbye. Add (inexperienced) Edu (if) into the mix, lack of CL and we are going to end up with small transfer kitty stretched to try and… Read more »
I’m pretty sure Chelsea won’t be spending money for a while!
They’ve got five billion loan players to fall back on
They’ll probably bully/backhander their way out of it.
Get both..And give them Mhki and Iwobi
I know it’s envy, with pool and spuds, but if we lose this, I’ve had enough for a season or two, I can’t watch us with any joy at all. Everything we were meant to represent has gone to Klopp, we are vanilla, nothing special any more.
I honestly think Wolves are better managed, more exciting than us, on one season with 100M. If it’s true we only have 45. Really? Fuck you Aresenal. Bye.
Come on Liverpool!! Fuck those cunts!!!
I think this might be the worst season of football in the history if the game. Seriously. Is there somewhere we can all go and commit mass suicide before 1st June?
Yeah this season promised better back in march but now it is increasingly depressing, gonna be supporting the Bin-dippers against spuds – not that I will watch the game as I have better things to do like yawning
No chance in hell that we get to the EL final. Top brass in UEFA already plotting against us to avoid all english finals We lose 4-1,at least one wrong penalty against us and Granit send off.
Or we will lose because we are utter weak cunts. Did anyone think anything else would happen in the sp*rs game when it went to 2-2? Of course – 90th minute winner. What an utter sloppy cunt of a season
England is where the money is, we’ll get to the final, UEFA need to sell tickets and have high audience figures. Valencia couldn’t shift 2,000 tickets for a first leg semi in London, how are they going to get 15,000 fans to Baku or draw the worldwide TV figures we would? I suspect we’ll lose the final dodgly though; the Europa League needs as many big clubs as it can get
This really is the darkest timeline…
Hoping for a Snap that justs dusts spuds from existence at this point
1-800-273-8255
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
Bloody hell I hope gaining every arsenal supporter pushes Liverpool over the line
i think we can all get behind wanting a liverpool win in the final , but i dont want to hear or see the above. i hate liverpool as a club and their supported fractionally less than spurs , so the best outcome for me is a nuke to go off in madrid 5 mins before kick off. harsh maybe but honest.
@arseblog – please create a new post just so that everyone can come here and vent their anger/frustration/misery following the last game.
Help your brothers out, please.
Thank you.
Yeah you know fuck you and the players. Do we trust these weak minded pussy footed fairies not to make us the laughing stock of english football tomorrow. Talk the talk but never walk it. Just had to watch the spud cunts play a fucking blinder and Liverpool shit all over Barca the other night. When was the last time these cunts gave us a night like that. 2006 Henry at the Bernabeu. Embarrassing.
I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them, and as I have nothing but resentment for the current crop I would trade a 10 nil humiliation tomorrow night to go back in time and watch Ajax knock out the spuds.
what the hell possessed Wenger to give Mezut Ozil 350,000 pounds a week contract?
what a waste of fucking money. what a shameful disgraceful waste. Nice hospital pass for your successor. I’m gone, but I leave you with Mezut
wasnt wenger it was ivan .
Makes you sick, doesn’t it? The scummiest team in the world has got to the Champions’ League final. And where are we? Hoping that our team of snowflakes actually turn up in Spain tomorrow. Everything that’s happening to Spuds, Liverpool and us has been years in the making. It was obvious at least 5 years ago that Wenger needed replacing and that the squad needed major sustained investment. But we had a useless owner who instead kept giving the French has-been new contract because: (a) he didn’t give a toss about actually winning anything, just getting fourth; and (b) he… Read more »
And Ivan.
The entire staff should be feeling deeply embarrassed right about now. I don’t want to hear any bullshit stories about war chests until it’s expressed in the past tense with signings complete and ready to go by before kickoff next season. We’re not within pissing distance of Liverpool and fucking Sp*rs and we’re odds on to get beaten in a second rate cup final by the Chavs. Sort it out quick smart, you can’t win everything but the bare minimum is to be able to hold your head up against your rivals.
We are looking in danger of becoming like Nottingham Forest after Clough left!!! The decline of Nottingham Forest is very sad as they were a respectable team that achieved great things despite the odds – sound familiar with Wenger at Arsenal? We are in serious danger of going the same way!!!
After 9 years living in Valencia, I am delighted that our boys are finally here to play. It’s a great distraction after the chances of an Apocalypse increased last night. I really couldn’t call this one, but let’s hope we get an early goal to steady the nerves. The Mestalla will be pumped tonight, but they have some of the most impatient fans in Spain & Emery knows that better than anyone. Fingers crossed!