Cech falters as Arsenal loses; Bayern advances in German Cup

Arsenal had enjoyed a promising pre-season campaign after winning two tournaments and the Community Shield thanks to a 1-0 victory over defending Premier League champions Chelsea.

“But it’s just the start of the season…Any championship is never a motorway, it is always about responding well to accidents. We have a tricky start, today we have been hurt mentally and it is a good opportunity to respond”.

“It’s been tough at times, playing Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, but we’ve adapted well to it and hopefully it will stand us in good stead come the start of the Premier League season”.

For his part, Cech seemed to accept that he was at fault for at least one of the goals and took to Twitter to own up.

“We were a bit nervous and we didn’t respect the basics”. “It is important we have this continuity and I hope we can enjoy more success in the future – for the fans, the players and the club”, Mourinho said.

And while Bilic is determined to try to keep Oxford’s feet on the floor in coming weeks, it is testament to the West Ham academy that they spotted his potential after he began his career in a very different role. West Ham looked a bit sharper than us, more advanced in preparation than us.

I haven’t spoken to Cech.

Arsenal is also known admirers of Karim Benzema yet the London club refuse to meet Real Madrid’s asking price despite having the money to do so.

Bilic’s tactical gamble worked a treat and TV pundit Graeme Souness hailed Oxford’s performance by saying: “For a 16-year-old it borders on the ridiculous”.

Arsene Wenger said Oxford “looked convincing”, and his teammate Winston Reid called his play “brilliant”.

It was the ideal day, said Slaven Bilic after his West Ham team defied the odds and humbled one of the title contenders at their home ground with a confident display.

Oxford, 16, became West Ham’s youngest ever player after starting in the 2-0 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker rued his side’s “massive loss” and added: “Overall, we weren’t decisive enough, especially in the final third. We have to manage him not only on the pitch, but off the pitch for him to stay grounded and progress, because the boy’s got everything”.