Arsenal have kicked off the league campaign in dominant fashion, currently leading the table by four points and holding a six-point advantage over reigning champions Liverpool. ..Continue Reading
Central to their strong start has been their outstanding defensive performance, with Mikel Arteta’s squad allowing just three goals in their opening nine league fixtures.
The north London club have consistently boasted one of the top defences in recent seasons, but have elevated their game this year, thanks in part to the arrivals of Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera during the summer.
If they maintain their current pace, Arsenal are projected to concede approximately 13 goals over the full season, which would surpass the benchmark set by Chelsea in the 2003/04 campaign.
That season, the Blues allowed only 15 goals, with a backline anchored by John Terry and Cech helping Jose Mourinho’s team cruise to the title.
However, the former Czech international, who later played for Arsenal, feels the Gunners may struggle to sustain the defensive consistency needed to eclipse Chelsea’s record.
‘Well, you know, they are doing really well, I have to say. It’s early in the season, but you have to start somewhere,’ Cech said in a TikTok video when asked by former teammate Terry if Arsenal could break Chelsea’s record.
‘If they carry on like that, then they have a chance, but at the same time, it’s a hard job. 38 games, you need to have a little bit of luck sometimes.
‘I think it will be hard for them to break our record, but I will be following because they started well.’
Looking back on Chelsea’s achievement two decades ago, Cech remarked: ‘I have to say I’m proud of it because you have to be consistent and you have to have a whole team chipping in and, actually, only 15 goals in one entire season in the Premier League is quite insane.
‘You need everyone and, of course, if you have someone who can actually be in a space between the attacking phase and defending phase and gel things together, then I believe that is very important.
‘We had Makele there and everybody looked and thought ‘this guy is there everytime you need him’. That is important and, of course, nowadays you want creative players as well to score some more goals, but if you have a solid structure and people really chipping in and defending well, then it wins you games in the end.’
Arteta’s tactical approach has faced scrutiny from some observers, but Cech expressed appreciation for the emphasis placed on defensive solidity.
‘And it’s nice to see, on the other hand, that you have a team that is actually proud of having a defensive record as well, because everybody is now about playing out from the back and creating chances and scoring goals,’ he added.
‘But at the end of the day if you don’t concede you only need one goal to win games, and this is what Arsenal has been doing so far, so let’s see how they keep going.’
Leave a Reply