Cech's not bouncing
Arsenal goalkeeper brushes off talk of him leaving, aims to keep his No. 1 jersey
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has dismissed rumours linking him with a return to former club Chelsea.
The 36-year-old joined the Gunners from Chelsea in the summer of 2015, but has been linked with a move to the Blues following the arrival of German shotstopper Bernd Leno from Bayer Leverkusen for £22.5 million (S$40.3m)
Cech, who has a year left on his contract, said: "I've said many times. I'm here, I have one more year of contract and the club is counting on me.
| ATLETICO MADRID | ARSENAL |
"I'm here to concentrate on my job and, as I said before pre-season started, I'm going to concentrate on my job and keep the No. 1 jersey, hopefully get into the starting line-up and then what comes comes."
The former Czech Republic international, who spent 11 trophy-laden seasons with Chelsea, was speaking to reporters before Arsenal's training session at the Singapore American School yesterday.
Despite winning the English Premier League's Golden Glove award in his first season with Arsenal, the veteran's performances have come under fire in recent times.
One such moment came during Arsenal's 3-1 league defeat by Swansea City in January, when Cech made a botched clearance that led to a Swansea goal.
With new boss Unai Emery in charge and Cech getting on in years, the 26-year-old Leno is seen by many as the club's long-term successor to Cech.
However, having outlasted many other goalkeepers during his time with Chelsea, Cech remains unfazed by the challenge from the German, saying: "It happened many times during my career, that's the way it goes.
"The only thing you do is you work hard and try to force your way through to the starting line-up, and I think especially in football there's no sentiment about it. You just do your job and you'll see."
Aside from Leno, Arsenal have attempted to shore up their leaky defence with the signing of veteran defenders such as Greece vice-captain Sokratis Papastathopoulos and former Juventus stalwart Stephan Lichtsteiner.
But by far the biggest change will be the appointment of Emery, who will be prowling the Arsenal technical area, following the end of Arsene Wenger's 22-year tenure.
I think it's nothing new for the players. I had 11 managers when I was at Chelsea, so can you imagine the way it goes?Petr Cech on having to adapt to life under a new manager
Cech, however, believes that adapting to the new boss will not be an issue for the players.
He said: "I think it's nothing new for the players. I had 11 managers when I was at Chelsea, so can you imagine the way it goes?
"But it's always the same; as a player when a new manager comes in, you work as hard as you can to show him you can be in the starting line-up."
Cech will have an opportunity to make good on his word when Arsenal take on Atletico Madrid tonight at the National Stadium in the International Champions Cup (ICC).
With Arsenal missing only a few players who are on their post-World Cup break, this pre-season will be an opportunity for the Gunners to find their rhythm ahead of their season opener against EPL champions Manchester City on Aug 12.
The Gunners will be looking to get back into the Champions League spots this season after failing to finish in the top four for the past two campaigns. However, Cech warned fans against expecting instant results.
He said: "It's a new year after a big change, so it might take some time, (or) it might not.
"The intention is to go into the season to do as well as possible, but the target is to finish in the top four, where the club belongs. We should be in the Champions League."
After tonight's match, the Gunners will face French giants Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday, before PSG take on Atletico Madrid on Monday.
All matches take place at the National Stadium at 7.35pm.
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