Petr Cech admits Arsenal must record back to back victories against Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur this week to relaunch their spluttering Premier League title challenge.
Arsenal's showdown with Swansea at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday marks the first of those games, with Arsene Wenger's side aiming to bounce back from Sunday's damaging 3-2 defeat at Manchester United.
That loss, together with Leicester City's defeat of Norwich City 24 hours previously and Tottenham's victory over Swansea, left Arsenal in third place, five points off top spot.
That meant the club squandered their good work in beating leaders Leicester seven days earlier, a win that had moved Wenger’s men second and appeared to shift the momentum of the title race in their direction.
But instead of building on that win, Arsenal are now playing catch-up and the manner of their defeat at Old Trafford has raised questions about their stomach for the fight, as well as reigniting the debate about Wenger’s own future at the club.
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The French coach is in no doubt about the reaction he is expecting from his players against a Swansea side who lie two places and three points above the relegation zone and are without a win in four league games.
“We have to show that we are at the level of this fight,” Wenger told Arsenal Player. “Things can change quickly. We need to bounce back quickly on Wednesday night.”
And the manager's view was supported by Arsenal goalkeeper Cech, a veteran of four Premier League title successes with Chelsea.
“This (the defeat at United) was a big disappointment for us and is a step back after last week where we managed to overcome a deficit against Leicester at home,” Cech said.
“This is a step back but we need to keep working. We have two important games coming up this week and if we manage to win both the table might look better again.”
On paper, the second of those two games looks the most testing with Tottenham currently in second place, three points clear of their North London rivals.
With the derby scheduled for an early kick-off just three days after the Swansea clash, Wenger may be tempted to make changes in a bid to freshen up his side with Olivier Giroud likely to return up front in place of Theo Walcott against the South Wales outfit.
Sunday’s defeat at White Hart Lane did nothing to ease Swansea’s relegation fears, although midfielder Leroy Fer insists there were grounds for optimism ahead of the visit to the Emirates Stadium.
“We have to keep our heads up and go again on Wednesday,” Fer said.
“There are positives to take from Sunday’s game, and we will take that to the Emirates on Wednesday.
“We have a strong squad here, and everyone is desperate to do their part to help the team get points.”
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