Petr Čech believes Arsenal’s disciplined performance from the start on Sunday was the reason they kept their first clean sheet at Stamford Bridge since 2005.
Cech spoke to the official Arsenal website after the game about how things were different this time from the match against Liverpool, revealing Arsenal’s approach let them down at Anfield but not against Chelsea. “At Liverpool we gave them the advantage before half-time, then it became very difficult for us,” he said.
“A couple of recent times at Stamford Bridge we didn’t finish with 11 players on the pitch and as well on both occasions we gave them first-half goals. Obviously, when Chelsea get in front at home then it’s very difficult for anybody, so we needed to make sure that we kept the clean sheet and wait for our chances.
“It’s a shame that in the first half that we had some good opportunities that we didn’t take. We had to survive the first 20 minutes and then step-by-step towards the end of the first half we came more and more into the game.”
Arsenal have shown in recent meetings with Chelsea that they can get a good result, but I believe it’s only when they have a good start. At Stamford Bridge last season, the Gunners were behind within 13 minutes and lost 3-1. At the Emirates, Arsenal were 2-0 up after 14 minutes and won 3-0. In the two matches at Wembley the team kept clean sheets in the first-half and went on to win on both occasions.
The reason for this probably has a lot to do with the mentality of the sides going into the game, in my opinion. Chelsea have traditionally been very good at shutting the Gunners out when they want to, so when they get a lead they can feel confident of holding it, whereas I’ve felt Arsenal often grow frustrated and seem nervous about making a breakthrough.
When Chelsea fail to score, it’s a different story for me. Unless they’re looking for a draw from the start, they have to come out and attack the Gunners, which opens up the spaces for Arsenal to exploit.
On this occasion, Arsenal couldn’t get the win, but they kept the clean sheet at the Bridge and can be proud of that.