Emery to keep faith in Cech for Chelsea clash

Arsenal boss Unai Emery insists Petr Cech can bounce back from last week’s chastening loss to Manchester City with the goalkeeper set to start against his former club Chelsea.

Cech, 36, was criticised for the part he played in their 2-0 defeat as he struggled to execute Emery’s philosophy of playing it out from the back.

It made for uncomfortable viewing at times but Emery is set to keep faith with Cech when they travel to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

It means Bernd Leno, the club’s £22.5million summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen, will have to wait for his chance as Emery said: ‘For Saturday, the decision for me is easy.

‘Petr Cech can continue to start the match. I believe in him. If Bernd starts [in the future], I believe in him also. I am very happy with his [Cech’s] performance.

‘He has experience, he has quality, he has the capacity. Also, with Bernd Leno [it’s the same].

‘They are two goalkeepers who are important for us. They have different qualities but for us in the way we want to play, they can play.’

Cech spent 11 years at Chelsea, winning four Premier League titles and the Champions League, though was never known for his passing ability.

One comical moment against City saw the 36-year-old almost pass the ball into his own goal before it narrowly missed the post and went out for a corner instead.

Asked whether modern goalkeepers must be able to play with their feet, Emery said: ‘Football is very challenging.

‘Goalkeepers can play like a player, to start short with the centre-back or the right or left-back.

‘It is not compulsory. Maybe if the opposition is doing high pressing against us, then we need also to find another option and to play the ball long.

‘We are training for each situation. I want in each moment to know what is our best action to do in the match. This is our creative style and idea. We need with security, with confidence, to build in each match and training session. We are in this process.

‘We want to build a competitive team. We are going to play away but we need to keep our personality, keep our mentality.

‘Against Manchester City, the team kept their ideas, kept their spirit in the game for the full 90 minutes, even when we were losing, and didn’t let their heads go down.’

Courtesy- Daily Mail Online