Petr Cech has opened up as to why Arsenal struggled under Arsene Wenger, claiming the Frenchman was more worried about his style of football than winning games.
The 36-year-old was brought to the Emirates Stadium by Wenger in the summer of 2015 and is now in his fourth season with the club - three of which were spent under Wenger whilst this season is Unai Emery's debut campaign as manager of the Gunners.
Speaking with the Guardian, Cech has opened up about how he has seen a change in the mentality of the players since Emery's arrival, claiming Wenger was more concerned about implementing the 'Arsenal way' of football rather than winning games.
He said: “What we lacked in the past – I would say the ‘Arsenal way’ was more important than getting the points sometimes and this is not how you win the league. Sometimes you need to make sure you win an ugly game, when you are not playing completely well but you just dig deep, close the back door and win 1-0 no matter how.
“I think this is what we lacked over the last three years, since I arrived. Against Everton, we went through difficult moments in the game but we managed to get the win and with the clean sheet so this is very positive.”
After losing their opening two games, Arsenal have now won five successive games in all competitions and have surged up the table to sixth - just one point off a top four spot. Cech went on to credit their winning form to Emery who he says has been more demanding since his arrival.
He added: “It comes from the preparation, the everyday work and from the manager’s way of playing the game, as well. We work very hard every day to give ourselves the chance to compete with everybody and hopefully it will be working even better than it has been for the last four games. He is very demanding and this is how you improve.
"I think the place has become much more demanding in every way so this is great to see because this is what initially drives everybody forward and gives you the kind of kick that: ‘I’m not doing enough to start the game’ or ‘I’m not doing enough to keep my spot in the game,’ because the manager asked for precision and hard work every day.
"This is how it should be. We have very healthy competition and we are actually taking the benefit of it.”
He'll be hoping his Arsenal side and carry their winning momentum forward when they host Brentford in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday before taking on Watford in the Premier League on Saturday.
Source: 90min
