Cech: We can handle pressure

Petr Cech says Arsenal’s 5-1 win at West Ham proved they can handle the pressure in the title race.

The Gunners kicked off at the London Stadium knowing Chelsea had moved six points ahead of them following their 3-1 victory at Manchester City.

But Arsenal responded in the best possible style as a second-half Alexis Sanchez hat-trick fired them up to second.

“It became a kind of must-win game for us when Chelsea won and the gap opened to six points,” Cech said.

“We knew what we had to do and we did it in a very professional way. We showed the maturity not to panic and we kept going.”

Arsenal led 1-0 at halftime thanks to Mesut Ozil’s opener, set up by Sanchez.

The Chilean then ran the show in the second half with a sparkling treble, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also found the net as a late rush of goals floored the Hammers.

Andy Carroll marked his return from injury with a consolation, but it could not mask the growing problems at West Ham.

Manager Slaven Bilic pulled no punches afterwards, accusing his players of a lack of dedication, but he did not shirk his own responsibility for the shambles.

“I’m not trying to make excuses and I’m not trying to say who is guilty,” he said.

“I said it to the staff it is my responsibility as the manager and I have to get it back as quickly as possible, because we don’t have it at the moment.”