Arsenal goalkeeper, Petr Cech, has said that the club were guilty of putting style before substance under the management of Arsene Wenger.
The former Chelsea goalkeeper also compared the club with superstar golf player, Tiger Woods, in terms how long it has taken the Gunners to win a major trophy.
Cech produced a superb man of the match display against Everton on Sunday as Arsenal claimed their fifth straight win and recorded their first clean sheet of the season.
The 36-year-old moved from Chelsea in the summer of 2015 hoping to add to his sizable medal collection but has manged just a solitary FA Cup win so far
He has maintained his place in the side despite the recent signing of Bernd Leno and has been impressed by Unai Emery’s ultra demanding style of management.
“What we lacked in the past – I would say the ‘Arsenal way’ was more important than getting the points sometimes and this is not how you win the league,” Cech told Arsenal TV.
“Sometimes you need to make sure you win an ugly game, when you are not playing completely well but you just dig deep, close the back door and win 1-0 no matter how.
“I think this is what we lacked over the last three years, since I arrived [in 2015]. Against Everton, we went through difficult moments in the game but we managed to get the win and with the clean sheet so this is very positive.
“It comes from the preparation, the everyday work and from the manager’s way of playing the game, as well.
“We work very hard every day to give ourselves the chance to compete with everybody and hopefully it will be working even better than it has been for the last four games.
“He is very demanding and this is how you improve.
“I think the place has become much more demanding in every way so this is great to see because this is what initially drives everybody forward and gives you the kind of kick that: ‘I’m not doing enough to start the game’ or ‘I’m not doing enough to keep my spot in the game,’ because the manager asked for precision and hard work every day.
“This is how it should be. We have very healthy competition and we are actually taking the benefit of it.’
‘When a club win titles, it means you have a team with the knowhow to finish it off and you can see it in any sport,’ Cech added.
“I take Tiger Woods. It’s been some years since he won a Major tournament and the longer it goes on, the harder it becomes.
“This club hasn’t won the league for over 10 years so obviously you need to get back to knowing how to do it.
“We started with the new manager from scratch, basically, and we try to get this mentality of winning every game, progressing every game, working every day and, hopefully, we can build this up and win the title sooner rather than later.
“It was a great win against Everton because, having lost our first two games of the season, we needed to bounce back and now we have four wins in a row – two away, two at home – and we are in a much better place.”
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