Europa League

Bernd Leno asks Emery to start him ahead of Petr Cech

By Anmol

Posted on May 27, 2019

Arsenal made it to Europa League Final convincingly, going against former Emery-led squad Valencia and taking it to Baku with a thumping scoreline of 7-3.

In the Europa League final against Chelsea, it’s a tough decision to make who surrounds the goalkeeper position at Wednesday’s night. On the big occasion at Baku, Will Unai Emery continue with his ‘cup goalkeeper’, Petr Cech – which will be his last outing as a Gunner OR should Emery insert his number one shot-stopper Bernd Leno?

However, with Petr Cech rumoured to return back to Stamford Bridge next season, Arsenal fans have been furious and are keen to see Leno called up to the starting XI.

There are fair arguments on either side of the fence. Being ruthless and fully from footballing perspective, Leno should be handed the starting gig. But football is more than just about being ruthless and that human element persuades you to select Cech between the woodworks.

petr-cech

And this week, in an interview with German publication Kicker, the Arsenal No. 1 told, ‘I have great respect for Petr, and we get along very well.

‘He deserves all credit, and I treat him well.

‘But it’s clear that I’m a competitor, I always want to play, especially in a final. Therefore, it would be the completely wrong time to have a guilty conscience.

‘I’m certainly not going to say “I’d rather not play”. I’m keen to play. That’s my mindset. However, it is not decided yet. [If Emery picks Cech] I would have to accept it. The most important thing is that we win regardless of who is in goal.’

He continued: ‘To win the Europa League would be the first big title for me. We all want to hear the [Champions League] anthem again.

‘The Thursday-Sunday rhythm is also not so good because you always suffer in the league. If we lose the final, our season, which was actually good, would be disappointing.’