Western Sydney Wanderers v Arsenal: Petr Cech wants Gunners to fire at sold out ANZ Stadium

PETR Cech wants Arsenal to “improve efficiency” in front of goal when they play Western Sydney Wanderers in front of a sell-out ANZ Stadium crowd.

Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech in action against Sydney FC at ANZ Stadium. Picture: Getty Images

PETR Cech will be looking for Arsenal to “improve efficiency” in front of goal when they play the Western Sydney Wanderers in front of a sell-out crowd at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.

It will be the last game of Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Sydney after the English Premier League giants beat Sydney FC 2-0 at the same venue on Thursday.

Cech had a relatively untroubled evening against A-League champions Sydney FC.

It was an entertaining match, but the Arsenal goalkeeper said his side were wasteful in front of goal and wants that to change against the Wanderers.

“It should have been more,” Cech said. “(We must) improve efficiency in front of goal because we obviously had so many chances and we only scored two goals.

“The most important for us at this stage of the pre-season is to get the minutes under the belt and people get fitter every game. This is the best way to prepare for the upcoming season.”

Striker Danny Welbeck, as well as youngsters Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock and Cohen Bramall all squandered their opportunities, but Cech was pleased to see the club’s record new signing Alexandre Lacazette make an immediate impact on his Arsenal debut.

Record signing Alexandre Lacazette found the net on his Arsenal debut.

The French striker scored from close range in the 83rd minute to open his goal scoring account for his new club and Cech says that would have given him a confidence boost.

“I hope he’s going to score goals, this is why he came to us,” Cech said. “We are very happy we have him in our team. It was his first real opportunity to score a goal and he did.

“When you come as a new player and as a big signing obviously you have a bit pressure. Everyone is looking at you thinking: ‘is he going to score goals?’ So for him to have scored the goal straight away is obviously good for his confidence.”

Cech says the wonderful reception Arsenal have received in Sydney has provided the players with a different motivation for the season, and so has spending the week meeting fans.

Speaking at a Puma event where he, along with some of his Arsenal team-mates and Sydney FC players, Cech said it’s been important to give something back to their fans.

“Personally I get so much positive energy from events like this when you have the kids coming and you see the happiness in their eyes when they get a signature, a picture or they can ask you things they would love to know,” he said.

“I think this is important for us as well — when you get so much, it’s important for us to give something back and these are the events where you can give back.”

Originally published as Western Sydney Wanderers v Arsenal: Petr Cech wants Gunners to fire at sold out ANZ Stadium