Last Minute Goal Win

“It was a crucial win. After the national team break a lot of clubs had only gathered at the last minute and it’s important to get these first matches out of the way,” said Petr.

The Gunners took the lead after Kocielny’s opening goal, however the opponents responded with a lucky equaliser which was noted as Petr’s own. “They had a free kick which I bumped up to the crossbar but as the ball fell down it rebounded off my back and rolled past the line,” Petr described.

“The first halt was far from ideal from our side. After the break we improved our game a bit. There were a couple of quasi-opportunities which we never made anything out of. Southampton, on the other hand, threatened us with their breakaways,” stated Petr who performed two immaculate saves in the second half. The first consisted of him running out just at just right time to face a challenge and the second of him rendering harmless Long’s strike. “In the end the penalty decided and Cazorla managed to stay cool since the game had paused for about five minutes before.”

Petr was happy about the three points. “We knew that Manchester City had won a derby that afternoon and had therefore put eight points between them and us. If we hadn’t managed to win the loss would have been far too great. This way we’re still in touch with the other favourites,” added Petr.

Two new signings joined this game’s line-up: German sweeper Shkodran Mustafi and Spanish attacker Lucas Peréz. “Both of them demonstrated their qualities and overall did a good job. I’m pretty sure they’ll be quite the asset to Arsenal and over the next few months that will start to show. It hasn’t been easy for them since they both transferred over right before the end of the transfer window and so they haven’t gotten to train much with the team,” Petr said in respect of the new a signings.

Said two new players joined Arsenal just before the close of the summer transfer period which broke all records as to the overall volume – Premier League clubs spent roughly EUR 1.4bn for their new assets. “It goes to show that the Premier League really is the best championship in the world as well as the strongest one economically. It’s true that the transfer fees tend to be over the top but then again the world is aware of the fact that English clubs can afford them; that’s why the fees get ratcheted up so much. Everyone would like to play here, the clubs are able to afford the world’s best players from all over the world and that’s a nice bonus for the fans, too,” added Petr.