Petr Cech 'surprised' by Chelsea form and finds their struggles since leaving for Arsenal 'hard to believe'
Chelsea have lost seven of their 12 Premier League matches since Cech left for Arsenal in the summer
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Your support makes all the difference.Petr Cech has expressed his surprise at seeing Chelsea’s poor start of the defence of their Premier League crown, and admitted that it has been “hard to believe” how poor they have been since the goalkeeper left for Arsenal in the summer.
Cech completed an £11m move to London rivals Arsenal in the summer and has gone on to cement his place in Arsene Wenger’s first-team plans ahead of David Ospina and Wojciech Szczesny, the latter being farmed out on loan to Italian side Roma.
But while Arsenal are battling Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, Chelsea are languishing down in 16th and only three points above the relegation zone. It’s taken Cech by surprise, and he labelled the current situation at Stamford Bridge as a “crisis”.
"It makes me surprised,” Cech told Czech media outlet Tyden. “It's a team that six months ago won the league.
“Players stayed there, the coach added more to his liking. It is very hard to believe that the club is in such a state.
“I was surprised to see their suffering at the beginning of the league, but I was even more taken aback by the fact that the crisis still continues.”
The decision to sell Cech, which was made personally by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich as a goodwill gesture following his 11 years of service to the club, looked to backfire early when No 1 goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was ruled out for three months.
Summer signing Asmir Begovic was given a prolonged run in the first team, but with Courtois on the way back the Blues will be hopeful that the Belgian’s presence will lift a defence that has proven leaky this season.
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