Arsenal

Petr Cech understands Arsenal fans' disappointment

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 06 May 2017

Petr Cech understands fans' disappointment

Arsenal keeper Petr Cech is unsure why his side are unable to transfer their 'hard work' on the training ground into matches, having lost six times already in 2017.

Petr Cech has admitted that supporters have every right to feel aggrieved at Arsenal's "disappointing" campaign, claiming that the players' performances on the pitch are not matching their efforts in training.

The Gunners are likely to miss out on Champions League football for the first time in two decades, as they trail fourth-placed Liverpool by nine points with two games in hand to play.

Arsenal have won back-to-back league games just once since the end of January, which Cech concedes is not good enough following years of constant failure in the top flight.

"When you see the training sessions, after we beat Leicester and started preparing for Spurs, I thought we were in a good shape. We looked ready, and then obviously you don't transfer the work, and this positivity if you don't transfer it to the game, the performance can be like that," he told Sky Sports News.

"This is disappointing because you try to work hard, try to prepare to put out the best performance, and there have been far too many games this season, especially in 2017, where we didn't transform that from the training ground to the pitch. Everybody involved is so desperate to win the title, because it has been a long time, and this is probably where the frustration comes around.

"Year after year Arsenal have come very close, and in the end there is that missing piece. This is what adds together every year and the people can be disappointed. This is the first year in 20 years where there is a chance the club won't qualify for the Champions League, which is a completely new situation for everybody. Nobody who was involved or attached to Arsenal wants to see it this way, so you can understand the disappointment."

Arsenal, who take on Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon, have already lost six league games in 2017 - as many defeats as they suffered in the whole of 2016.