This is how I grow up in my career: fight and win. Every week, every day, I will be there knocking, making him a problem - in a good way - that he needs to think who to put on the pitch. STREAM ESPN FC DAILY ON ESPN+ĭan Thomas is joined by Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop and others to bring you the latest highlights and debate the biggest storylines. This season we haven't qualified for European football, which is frustrating because we have a big squad, everyone wants to play and this affects me as well. He knows, and that's why I ended up winning a space in the team. No, I was every week - and you can ask the manager as well - very consistent. Not just one training, two training sessions. "Last year, I fought a lot to come in the team.
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With age, you learn how to understand things. "But there are some things you don't need to talk about. "We haven't had this chat yet this season," he said. But it's not a conversation he feels compelled to initiate right now. It could also be an opportunity for a player in Cedric's position to have a quiet word with manager Arteta, perhaps to ask why he hasn't been given the chance to play in the Premier League since Sept. With many of the squad away, sessions include smaller-sided games, often supplemented by a few promising academy youngsters thrown in to test their mettle. The 30-year-old is speaking to ESPN via Zoom after a day's training in bracing late-autumnal weather at the club's London Colney base during the final international break of 2021. Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images Cedric's time at Arsenal has been stop-start, but the Portugal defender is working hard every day to contribute to what the Gunners are doing. After losing their opening three league matches, the Gunners have recovered to win eight of their subsequent 10 games, though the absence of European competition for the first time in 25 years limits the opportunities for Arteta to rotate a winning team. Just five outings have followed so far this term: three in the Premier League and two in the EFL Cup. There was nothing written or anything but in the end in football, it's also important for you to give your word."Īfter scoring four minutes into his debut against Norwich on July 1, 2020, Cedric played four more times during "Project Restart" before going on to make 24 appearances last season, including a spell at left-back deputising for Kieran Tierney. They just signed me immediately in January and I had a little bit of a gentlemen's agreement that I would be signing the summer because I was coming. I knew I had an injury in that week before I moved to Arsenal and that was frustrating because I wanted to come and help, but they also knew I had a few offers for the summer. "So when I moved, I had a few offers and I was basically coming for free. "I wasn't moving just for the sake of moving," explained the right-back. Kane to Man City? Conte faces fight to keep Spurs striker.From the outside, it seemed a leap of faith from Arsenal, but in an exclusive interview with ESPN, Cedric revealed it was the product of a preexisting arrangement. In the meantime, before kicking a ball for the club, he signed a four-year contract. It is this depth of emotion for the Gunners that explains his approach to the present battle of regaining a first-team place at Emirates Stadium, a continuation of the stop-start feel to his time in north London.Ĭedric became one of the early recruits of the Mikel Arteta era, arriving initially on loan at the beginning of 2020, only to have to wait 152 days for his debut as a result of a knee injury and the coronavirus pandemic. ESPN+ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more (U.S.) I was able to achieve this, the team I wanted to play for." "He always tells me: 'This is what you want. "I remember I said to him in the first season at Southampton, 'You know where I want to finish? I want to go there. "Once I came to England, I had a chat with my agent ," Cedric continued. That feeling was still strong within him in 2015, when choosing to end a 17-year association with Sporting Lisbon by joining Southampton. So, there was always this feeling for Arsenal." "I knew all the players at the time, when they were champions with Pires, Henry and this fantastic team. "I used to play Football Manager a lot with Arsenal," he says. Cedric Soares only joined Arsenal in January last year, but he first started trying to make them successful about 20 years ago.