Arsenal’s era under Unai Emery was always set for a difficult start after the fixture list threw up opening games against Manchester City and Chelsea, with the Gunners losing to the former on Sunday.
The north London side struggled to compete with Pep Guardiola’s side, who are widely expected to retain their Premier League crown this season, falling to a 2-0 defeat following goals from Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva.
Eyebrows were raised by Emery’s team selection ahead of the match as veteran goalkeeper Petr Cech was selected between the sticks ahead of new signing Bernd Leno and endured a shaky performance – which included almost passing the ball into his own net.
However, Emery defended his choice after the game and stated that Leno must be patient waiting for opportunities. Quoted by The Evening Standard, he said:
“We want competence with the goalkeeper and the other players in the squad. Petr Cech had a very good pre-season. Today I think he played well also and he has this experience to defend our goal.
“Leno is starting with us, working very well and also played well in pre-season. But he can wait and arrive in his moment.”
