Football

Petr Cech reveals the major reason Chelsea have won more trophies than Arsenal during his time in England


Petr Cech won the Champions League with Chelsea back in 2012 (Picture: Getty)

Petr Cech believes Chelsea’s approach to winning at all costs differs enormously from the lack of pressure placed upon players to perform at Arsenal.

After a trophy-laden 11-year spell between the posts at Stamford Bridge, the 37-year-old swapped west for north London in the summer of 2015 having lost his place to Thibaut Courtois.

Cech has added only a solitary FA Cup to his trophy collection during his time at Arsenal ahead of Wednesday’s Europa League final against his former club.

The match in Baku will mark the final game of Cech’s illustrious career and he admitted it took time to adapt to the different atmosphere within the Arsenal dressing room created by Arsene Wenger.

‘It will sound strange but I think generally at Arsenal there is not enough pressure,’ Cech told Standard Sport.

‘Arsene is a real gentleman. As much as he hates losing, he stays a gentleman. If you lose, you win, you lose, you win, he kind of carries on. That’s something I’ve never experienced before.

‘At Chelsea, at the times when we drew, it felt like a funeral in the dressing room. It was so bad.

Petr Cech helped Arsenal win the FA Cup in 2017 after they beat Chelsea in the final (Picture: Getty)

‘If we drew against a big team at home, it was like, ‘Oh no, it is impossible we didn’t win at home’. It came from everywhere: the players, the coach. Since the start when I was there, the pressure was there every game.’

Despite their failure to cement a top four place in the Premier League following a late season capitulation Cech, who is expected to be selected ahead of Bernd Leno on Wednesday, denied Arsenal are incapable of performing in must-win scenarios, citing several high-profile examples to the contrary.

I feel that when Arsenal need to win, we win,” he said. “You go to Athens in the last Champions League group game [of 2015] needing to win 2-0 and you win 3-0. No matter where, we win, because that fire was right behind us as we had to really win. The pressure was what was pushing us.

He added: ‘I completely disagree with people who say, ‘When you pressure comes, [you don’t win]’. No. I think we lose points where there is not enough pressure. So, we went to Everton [on April 7]. You know you win, you go third… you lose, you stay fourth. We lost. That week with Wolves [losing at Molineux, either side of defeats to Crystal Palace and Leicester], it was the same situation.

Unai Emery must decide whether to stick with Petr Cech or select Bernd Leno for Arsenal’s Europa League final clash against Chelsea (Picture: Getty)

‘There was always a cushion, there was always, ‘It is not such a disaster’. We should probably create more pressure on everybody because that would give people more to think about.

‘We went to Napoli [in the quarter-finals] and everybody says, ‘Oh, you are rubbish away, they are brilliant at home’. We win 2-0, and then you go, ‘How do you explain that?’ If you are under pressure and you can’t perform, you lose that game. But we didn’t because the pressure was so high. You know you lose, you are out.

‘You lose 3-1 at Rennes [in the last 16, first leg], you have to win at home: you win. The semi-final? We win. So, the examples are there.’

“That’s Football” – Petr Cech and Roger Taylor – released on Virgin Records – available to download now on Spotify and iTunes. All proceeds go to Willow Foundation –PetrCechRogerTaylor.lnk.to/ThatsFootballSo





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