Unai Emery Confirms Petr Cech Will Retain His Place in the Starting XI Despite Fan Backlash

Unai Emery has insisted Petr Cech will retain his place in the Arsenal goal for their visit to Chelsea this weekend despite his shaky start to the season. 

The 36-year-old looked uncomfortable at times under Pep Guardiola's Citizens' high press while attempting to play out from the back, with one particular moment - where the veteran almost passed the ball into his own net - a catalyst for much criticism during the fallout. 

However, while speaking to The Mirror ahead of his side's trip to Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, the Spanish coach claimed he is confident his stopper has what it takes to retain his spot over summer signing Bernd Leno. 

"I am very happy with his performance," Emery said. "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 [both] play.

"For Saturday, the decision for me is easy. Petr Cech can continue to start the match, I believe in him. [But] If Bernd starts, I believe in him also."

Emery went on to admit that City's victory against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium highlighted the difficulties of the task facing him even more so, and insisted that Chelsea will not be much easier to overcome. 

"We wanted to start [in front of] our supporters, against a great team like Manchester City, but the difficulty on the pitch was big," he added. 

"For me, the result is very important but also the way [of the result]. I think we can improve in each match, in each training.

"The difficulty is clear: I believe in our team, I believe in our players. We can improve and we need to improve playing in the difficult games. Our demands are very high and I want these demands for me first, but also for the players and the club.

"We need to work hard, we need to work together and we need to suffer together when we lose. It’s the same for me, for the players and for the club.

"When you are [at the op or at the bottom] you need the resilience. You shouldn’t change your mentality if you lose the first game. I want a consistency in our way [performances]. I want us to do well with our thinking and our mentality.

"We have one plan, we have one process. Maybe in one match you can be very happy with the performance and the result - and I want that on Saturday. But then you need more time to completely watch your team as you want [them to play].

"For example, on Sunday, we saw good things on the pitch. I want us to show more personality in each match to improve, so the performances arrive quickly. Saturday is a very good option to show our personality, our capacity against a big team like Chelsea, and away from home.

"[When you’re] away, you have an opportunity to change last year’s difficulties when the team played away. On Saturday we need to be a more competitive team on the pitch to change these away performances.

"We played two or three weeks ago against Chelsea, but with different players on the pitch, to Saturday - Hazard, Kante, Giroud, Kovacic.

"The personality we want to play with will be the same in this match. It will be different because both teams could have different players on the pitch, but it’s a good reference match to work with ahead of this Saturday against Chelsea.

"The first game gives us more information about things to improve and also things to continue doing. It’s clear that the result was the first [objective] we wanted. But it was Manchester City’s day.

"We need to continue with our work to make the differences in the next match and in the future. For me, what was most important was the players know the positive things we did in this game and also the things we need to improve on and work more for."