Petr Cech Names Stadium of Light as the Toughest Ground to Visit

Petr Cech says that he certainly does not enjoy going to the Stadium of Light since it is one of the difficult places to visit for an opposition player.

The Arsenal goalkeeper conceded a penalty at this ground earlier in the campaign. Even though it was not damaging to Arsenal, who managed a 4-1 win, it was a disappointing record for the goalkeeper not to preserve the clean sheet. Arsenal have one of the strongest defensive records in the division after having conceded only 15 goals in as many matches. Much of this defensive record was down to Cech, who arrived at Arsenal in a £10 million deal a few years ago.

In the past, Arsenal have been unable to maintain consistency throughout the campaign. However, this has changed in recent seasons largely because of an experienced player like Cech keeping the goal intact.

Even with a player with so much experience, Cech says that he struggles whenever he visits the Stadium of Light due to the intimidating atmosphere.A passionate set of supporters being able to visit the only club in the vicinity means that the club enjoys huge support especially if the team performs well in the opening 10 minutes.

Jermain Defoe scored the penalty against Cech, who has been unable to save any of the spot kicks this season.“I think Sunderland is one of the places I don’t like to go. When you have a wind, dark day and the home support is always up for it, so it is a difficult place to go.I actually enjoy games like this, where it is intense and the crowd is very loud and really emotional - it makes the game spicy. I like that because football is about emotions. Football is about bringing people in,” said Cech.