Arsenal boss Unai Emery 'happy' for Petr Cech to keep starting place at Chelsea

Unai Emery has claimed he would be happy for Petr Cech to retain his place in goal for Arsenal against Chelsea this weekend – but did not entirely rule out the possibility of starting Bernd Leno at Stamford Bridge.

The 36-year-old was criticised for his performance in last Sunday’s 2-0 home defeat to Premier League champions Manchester City amid demands from Emery to play out from the back almost leading to a comical own goal in the first half.

Cech afterwards told Standard Sport he was ready to scrap with Leno for the number one spot following the German’s £19.2million summer arrival from Bayer Leverkusen.

And Emery defended his display, appearing initially to confirm he would play before later adding Leno was ready to make his debut if called upon.

“I am very happy with his performance,” said the Gunners boss. “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.”

Arsenal were outclassed against City and face a difficult trip to face the Blues, having won just once in the last ten years in west London but Emery insisted there were enough positive signs against Pep Guardiola’s side to suggest they were on the right track.

“The first game gives us more information about things to improve and also things to continue doing,” he said. “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.

“First, we want to build a competitive team. We are going to play away but we need to keep our personality, keep our mentality, because I think on Sunday against Manchester City, the team kept their ideas, kept their spirit in the game for the full 90 minutes, even when we were losing, and didn’t let [their heads] go down.

“That was a good thing, [despite] us losing 2-0. I want us to continue with this work and to be completive for 90 minutes, but with a better performance than on Sunday, both individually and collectively. We want a good preparation before and a good response on the pitch to that preparation.”