Petr wins Community Shield with the Gunners!

It was Petr’s third game for Arsenal. Within the preparatory rounds his team and himself had acquired the Premier League Asia Trophy in Singapore and won the Emirates Cup on their return. Now Petr has featured in his first competition game and likewise got his hands on the trophy.

The sole goal of the match was scored by Oxlade-Chamberlain. Petr’s most crucial moment came in the 69th minute when he masterfully deflected Oscar’s free kick.

Petr, how do you feel about the win?
I’m really glad we won. I was particularly thrilled by the reception of fans from both sides, so I’d like to thank all of them. It was my first big game for a new club and it resulted in a win and a trophy. What else could I possibly wish for?

Was it really odd playing against a team you had been a part of for eleven years?
Indeed it was. I’d been at Chelsea for a long time and it was some amazing eleven years. I’m happy to have been able to shed all undue emotions and focus on football a hundred percent.

Was it tough to suppress those emotions?
Quite, yes, but you’ve got to be able to do that. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I dealt with it.

How about the match itself?
We started off well, then Chelsea took over to a certain extent, but we managed to score in the right moment which helped us a lot. They had to open up their game a little and we dealt with it correspondingly but for two major goal opportunities. We defended efficiently and had things relatively under control. Towards the end of the game we managed to create some opportunities of our own and could even have scored a second goal. The win is very valuable since our opponent was a title contender. Beating them gave us a lot of confidence.

Your most important save came in the second half after Oscar’s free kick. Did you see right through him?
I saw the ball quite late, someone had blocked my view in the last second. I was thinking I might have to deal with some sort of stunt, Oscar and I know each other well, and so I waited till the last moment. He kicked it brilliantly — nice and simple. That’s how he usually does it.

What were you thinking when you were receiving your first trophy for Arsenal?
I had gotten my hands on silverware before, but this was different in that the team was new. I really value it. If I exaggerate it a little bit, then I can establish that I’ve played three games for Arsenal and won a trophy in each one of them. It’d be nice if it went on like that, but we’ll obviously have to wait a little while now.

After the game you had a chat with Chelsea goalie Thibaut Courtois. What was there to say?
We wished each other a lot of luck in the next season and talked about how everyone was doing and other ordinary stuff. I said hi to everyone but there wasn’t a lot of time for a catch-up.