'I think we are ready for it' – Courtois eager to face Arsenal in Community Shield

The Chelsea goalkeeper is satisfied with his team's pre-season preparation ahead of next weekend's season kick-off at Wembley

Posted Sunday, July 30, 2017 by Goal.com

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois says his side are eager to kick off their season in next weekend's Community Shield against Arsenal.

The Premier League champions concluded their pre-season on Saturday with a 2-1 defeat to Inter in Singapore.

Antonio Conte's men now have a week to prepare before taking on the Gunners at Wembley Stadium next Sunday in the official curtain-raiser of the English season.

"We will do our best to win the Community Shield and I think we are ready for it," Courtois told Goal. "Let’s see if we have a good season."

Though Chelsea completed their pre-season with consecutive defeats in Singapore to Bayern Munich and then Inter, Courtois was satisfied with the way his team performed in their preperations for the regular season.

"I think we had some good training which was important for us," the Belgian said. "The first game against Arsenal (a 3-0 win in Beijing) was good

"The last two games we didn’t play bad but we gave away balls for counter-attacks. Obviously, that’s something we have to improve.

"The trainings were good and that was the most important part."

Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante echoed his goalkeeper's sentiments.

"We had two good games in Singapore, It helped us to prepare," Kante told Goal.

"Now we have to prepare very well for the game against Arsenal next week."