Published: 28 January, 2016
by STEVE BARNETT

PETR Cech believes Arsenal were just “moments” away from earning at least a point against Chelsea on Sunday, and is tipping his team-mates to regain their place at the top of the Premier League table. 

Diego Costa’s 23rd minute toe-poke condemned the Gunners to a 1-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium. But the real decisive moment came five minutes earlier when defender Per Mertesacker was sent off by referee Mark Clattenburg after being deemed to have brought down Costa as the Chelsea striker raced clear. 

Cech refused to complain about the red card but did say he felt Arsenal “conceded too early” after the sending off. 

“I thought for 70 minutes we were brilliant, in terms of the team effort and organisation,” he said. “We were not far from getting something out of the game. 

“I thought that, even with 10 men, we came back very strongly. We could have scored an equaliser but we were just missing that last touch inside the box. 

“We had some half-chances and there were moments where we were close, but we just couldn’t find the back of the net.” 

Focusing on Arsenal’s need to quickly regroup after the defeat, Cech added: “We are only three points off the lead and have Leicester and Southampton at home coming up. 

“They are difficult matches, but if we can win our games, we can go back to the top.”