How polyglot Petr Cech helps in Arsenal's defensive success?

The Czech goal-keeper simultaneously communicates with the Arsenal defence in English, French and Spanish.

New Delhi: In football, communication is the byword. With teams having different nationalities with their own languages, at times, it becomes confusing even to convey the simplest of messages.

Hours of training together helps, but in pressure situations, players resort to their instincts. It's always better to have someone talking to their first langauge, like when to release the ball, mark the man, etc, etc. And it holds true even for the professionals plying their trades in some of the biggest leagues.

But for a certain Petr Cech though, who speaks five languages, it comes naturally to him to take command in such situations. In an interview with the Mirror, the Czech goal-keeper revealed how he simultaneously communicates with the Arsenal defence in English, French and Spanish.

“I speak to the full-backs in Spanish, to [Laurent] Koscielny in French and to Per [Mertesacker] in English because for him it is the same as me. He organises people in English. Sometimes foreign players wouldn’t know what you say," he said.

He cited a perfect example how things get messy without communication.

“I remember the first training with the team after the injury and there was a massive scramble in front of the goal. Everyone was trying to kick the ball, there were boots flying everywhere and I just dived in and grabbed the ball."

Arsenal has a sizeable French and Spanish players in their ranks.

Considered as one of the best goalies, the 33-year-old is also regarded for his calm presence and it probably helped him and the team to defensive success. On Monday, he became English Premier League's best goal-keeper in terms of keeping clean sheets at 170.

Arsenal currently have fourth best defensive record this season, conceding 18 goals after the end of round 19. Tottenham are in top with 15, and Crystal Palace and Manchester United are joint second with 16 each.