Petr Cech says he does not blame the fans for booing the Arsenal players off following their defeat to Liverpool.
Arsenal lost their opening Premier League game at home for the third time in four seasons and were jeered by frustrated supporters during and after the game.
Arsene Wenger’s side were on top when Theo Walcott put them in front but conceded four times in 18 minutes and their comeback proved in vain.
Some of Arsenal’s following were heard saying ‘Wenger out’, while one member of the home crowd held up a placard asking ‘where’s our money?’, in reference to the club making only three signings so far this summer.
Cech said: “As a player we understand the supporters came with the ambition to win the first game of the season.
“We played well for 60 minutes, but were not good enough for 30 minutes. You have 37 more games and you need to make sure that is the last defeat.”
Liverpool took advantage of 20-year-old Rob Holding and Calum Chambers, 21, playing in central defence due to the absence of Per Mertesacker (knee), Gabriel Paulista (ankle) and Laurent Koscielny (not considered match fit).
Philippe Coutinho equalised just before half-time and Liverpool scored three quick goals after the restart.
Cech added: “I think it was more down to us. The momentum changed because of the free-kick [Coutinho’s equaliser].
“Liverpool came out with more ambition and were very aggressive. We were punished by the Adam Lallana goal to go 2-1 down and once we fell behind we opened the game too quickly and allowed them three, four, five counter-attacks.
How Arsenal forwards performed against Liverpool
“They [Holding and Chambers] did really well. You cannot be happy because you should not concede four goals at home, but I thought it was a really good experience for them.”
Wenger defended his decision not to have Koscielny, as well as Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil, in the squad.
Koscielny and Giroud played for France in the Euro 2016 final, while Ozil was involved in Germany’s semi-final defeat.
However, giving them a longer rest has come into question given other key members of the France squad — Bacary Sagna, Hugo Lloris, Anthony Martial — all started for their clubs over the weekend, while N’Golo Kante should make his debut for Chelsea tonight.
Even Ozil’s Germany team-mate, Emre Can, came off the bench for Liverpool in the second half.
But speaking about his missing trio and whether they could face Leicester this weekend, Wenger said: “We will try, but when they have not enough preparation they get injured.”
Wenger may have a point, given Aaron Ramsey, who was suspended for Wales’ semi-final at Euro 2016, suffered a hamstring injury.
He will have a scan today, while winger Alex Iwobi is also a doubt to face Leicester due to a thigh problem.
