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In a long-ranging interview with The Mirror, Arsenal's new signing Petr Cech believes his new team has the cohesion and the right platform for what it takes to challenge and beat the front-runners for this season's Premiership.
After enduring a frustrating season last year having to watch new young prospect Thibaut Courtois take the position between the sticks, Cech settled for a move across the Thames to Arsenal with the blessings of his club's owner Roman Abramovich.
Ask about how he felt about the move, he said, "I am excited. I’m looking forward to my new challenge. It’s not only a new chapter in my career, it’s a new chapter in my life. The last one I had with Chelsea was amazing so I hope the Arsenal adventure will be as successful as the Chelsea one.”
Petr Cech has been touted as the signing of the season by many players and pundits alike and with those claims comes the added pressure of performing but the Czech international isn't fazed by it one bit. "Football is about challenges and I want to prove those people right. I’d like to say: ‘You were right, I was worth it!’ This is what you try to do as a new player.”
With Arsenal winning the first piece silverware this season in the Community Shield, Arsene Wenger ended a long-standing loss streak after beating Jose Mourinho's Chelsea for the first time in fourteen attempts. When asked what he thought of both the managers, this is what he had to say: “The one thing that is similar is that neither of them wants to lose any game. It’s very easy for me to speak about Jose but difficult to speak about Mr. Wenger because I haven’t had many opportunities to work with him yet, but I should say that I was very impressed when I met him for the first time.”
And lastly when asked about where he'd see this Arsenal team finish, he said, "Well I don’t like to say exactly, but I hope we’re going to win enough games to be top. I think it’s possible. The team had a great season last year – that is a platform to build on and I believe we can make the step forward."
Arsenal host West Ham on the 9th of August at 18.00 IST and going by his performances in pre-season, it looks like Petr Cech will make his debut in an all-London derby.
