Per Mertesacker says Petr Cech’s presence in the Arsenal goal has given Arsene Wenger’s men added hunger in their quest for a first Premier League title since 2004.
After a nervy league debut against West Ham, the 33-year-old – who was the Gunners’ only ‘marquee’ signing of the summer – has acquitted himself magnificently keeping seven clean sheets; a foundation that has helped his teammates push up the table.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, the BFG cited the Czech international’s experience – he won four championships during his decade at Chelsea – physical presence and leadership as game-changing qualities in the Arsenal goal.
“He’s always someone who can save your day. That gives everyone a big lift, not only the back four.
“The way he is commanding and vocal makes him vital. He is one of our leaders and he deserves it.
“He has played at a high level and he is still very hungry and, no matter how successful he was at Chelsea, I think he gives our team that hunger we maybe need.
“He is an experienced player that everyone looks up to and he’s important for our structure as well.”
After Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Swansea the 33-year-old needs only one more clean sheet to equal David James’ Premier League record of 169. It’s a fantastic feat when you consider Cech has only made 339 appearances compared to James’ 567.
Cech is also only six behind Iker Casillas in the bid to become the keeper with the most clean sheets in the Champions League. He’ll be hard pushed to add to that list on Wednesday when the Gunners take on Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
Having beaten the Bundesliga giants 2-0 at the Emirates on Matchday 3, Mertesacker believes his compatriots will be very eager to prove a point on home soil.
“They will be angry. We are the first team that really challenged them and beat them in the end. So they will try to show they are better than us.
“We showed that we can beat them. That’s a good sign but it will be a different game at their place. Both teams have got a good chance to go through to the knockout stages.
“We improved our position in the last game but we need to get something out of this game. That puts pressure on us to perform.”
Me, I just gunner watch the game on Wednesday without stress
She says whilst sweat drips from her brow
‘She’??. hey there…
Go away. The internet could really do without your sort.
Don’t be a dick
yes I would like to see Cech keep another clean sheet against Bayern Munich on Wednesday so that if we score we will win the game.
I like would Zagrebe to win olympiacus so that all of will be with six point
It’s probably best if olympiacos win. You can be confident that they’ll get nothing from bayern and takes 1 team out of the running. I believe the tie break for 2nd eliminates the bottom team, so our loss would be chalked off and we’d go through if we beat olympiacos. If it’s a head to head tie breaker we only need to beat them by 2 goals to progress.
The tie breaker does not eliminate the bottom team, it’s a straight head to head. So we don’t really want to tie with Olympiakos in points, as that would mean we need to beat them by two goals at their place. Whatever happens tomorrow will not seal our fate, but it would be really helpful if we could restrict our margin to Olympiakos to less than 6 points, so either we need to get something or they need to not win. That would give some margin for error (either us not beating Olympiakos by two goals, or Bayern not beating… Read more »
we’ve got the experience and leaders to beat any team in the world…..we just need to continue our momentum…….!
A night in Munich without a red card and a defensive error would give us our point(s)!
COYG
Cech is a goooooner! I keep saying that to myself. It feels unreal sometimes.
Bellerin and the coq have just confirmed Gabriel to be the craziest and scariest player in the squad. We have been missing those characteristics since the days of viera vs Keane and mad Jens left. Someone you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley at night. Diego costa got nothing on him
Ive seen Costa and his antics at work far worse when he played against Madrid and was so lucky to stay on. As soon as the final whistle went, he started hugging his victims, apologising and said ‘its part of the game’. He just doesnt understand thats not how football should be played, what a cunt.
In Cech, not only that we signed a world class player but a big character in the dressing room too. I can see that players are becoming very hungry and outplaying themselves trying to stay in line with the likes of Cech, Sanchez and of course Ozil. Go Gunners!!!
As for Bayern – LET THEM COME
Don’t make them angry. You won’t like them when they’re angry.
As much as I love Per, he got demolished with through balls and was no where near Gomis any of the times. That kind of game suited Gabriel best but Wenger took a big risk imo and if it wasn’t for Cech and Bellerin and their striker fluffing easy 1 on 1s half the time, we would have lost. I reckon Gabriel is starting next match having heard what he said about us attacking more and not sitting back, but you never know. Still, this kind of game is Pers best chance to shine like the first game.
The big problem is we are going to be defending like crazy on Weds as Wenger will concede possession to Bayern as he did the first game, but without Walcott we aren’t going to be as potent on the counter attack. This match is going to take a lot out of us and then we face Tottenham on the weekend in a key league match using the same set of 11 with maybe one change (Gabriel may get a start this week or on the weekend). Anymore injuries up front and we are in serious trouble for the short term.
They will throw the kitchen sink at us early on. We will have to weather it. We need to pick our breaks intelligently. Giroud may not be pacy but he can trouble the cbacks (particularly with set pieces) On the break we will need both Alexis and Campbell to get into good positions for Giroud to relay quickly. We have to use their anger against them (sounds like a star wars movie) but if they become impatient, they may open up and create some lapses at the back which we must be efficient picking off. They like to pressure high… Read more »
Just be careful Arsenal .Show them some respect and pick them off intelligently. We can do this
Arsenal go