Petr Cech admits Arsenal’s poor start to the Premier League season is a tough pill to swallow, but that he believes the Gunners are moving in the right direction.

Unai Emery was handed the toughest of starts to life in English football when his side were drew to face both Manchester City and Chelsea in the opening two games of the new season.

The Gunners first 2-0 to City on the opening day, before again coming out on the losing end at Chelsea yesterday – a late goal from Marcos Alonso sealing all three points for the Blues.

“It’s not been easy,” said Cech following the weekend’s defeat, “but sometimes that’s the way it is and you learn the hard way.

“We improved again from the last game, so having seen the work that we put in everyday and the way that the team response to things we do, I’m pretty positive we are on the right way to improve.”

Next up for Arsenal are West Ham on Saturday, followed by games against Cardiff, Newcastle, Everton and Watford before the end of September.

While those fixtures pose plenty of challenges in their own right however, Unai Emery’s side will be hoping to use such games to get the ball properly rolling this season.

And Cech believes all the players in Emery’s 23-man squad can play their part in the coming weeks as the Gunners look to bounce back from a tough fortnight.

“We’re improving as a team altogether and the same applies to everyone – you have to show the manager that you’re good enough to play,” the former Chelsea shot-stopper said.

“We have a squad of 23 players and everyone in the squad needs to be ready to show the manager that they deserve a spot.”