Petr Cech believes defensive miserliness has been as much a reason for our excellent league start as the attacking play at the other end.
It is the forward-thinking players that have grabbed the headlines, helping themselves to 21 league goals in five games, but Cech and his defence have yielded only Scott Parker's consolation strike at West Ham in that period, and the goalkeeper is keen to point out it is at the back where the best sides lay their foundations.
'Sometimes getting clean sheets and not conceding can be more crucial than scoring the goals. When you don't concede basically you only need to score one goal,' said the 6ft 4in stopper.
'We can say that because you can only build a team from defending well, it helps obviously when you need to start well. When you start scoring a lot of goals it is a big bonus.'
It has been said that today's opponents Manchester City will pose our first real test of the Barclays Premier League campaign, but Cech is keen to point out the benefit hindsight offers.
'It was a tricky start because last season at the beginning we went to play Wigan away and lost, it is not an easy game,' he said. 'Although we won 6-0 there, if you see the first 40 minutes it was a tough game.
'We scored at the perfect time and then two at the start of the second half and it finished 6-0 but for 40 minutes that game was really tough and we had to play well to make things happen and win the game. It is never easy to win a game in the Premier League wherever you go.'
That said then, he knows City will provide a stern examination as they aim to show their own title credentials. Cech believes the Eastlands club has everything in place to challenge, but may still need to gel as a unit.
'Money can't buy the success, you need a good team to win something, you need the spirit and the atmosphere in the dressing room and the club generally to be successful. You can put the best players together but it never means you will have a good team,' he explained.
'You have to have the players to build that spirit and atmosphere. If everyone is thinking about their ego then you can have a great manager, a great squad, great facilities but never a great team.'
Despite their vast outlay over the summer, it remains one of their cheaper acquisitions, goalkeeper Joe Hart (a £600,000 signing from Shrewsbury Town) who has Cech's attention after replacing Shay Given as City's preferred choice.
'I think it has been difficult for him at the start, he can see how highly rated, and rightly, Shay Given is, then suddenly got in front of him and had to show to everybody he deserved to play,' said the 28-year-old. 'He started with a fantastic game against Tottenham and has been playing well, started for the national team, and he came into the spotlight.
'Now people will watch him in a different way, he is not one of the candidates to be England's number one, now he is the number one and he has more pressure on. So far he has been doing really well.'
This afternoon's affair pits the league's two tightest defences against each other. Cech will be hoping that it is he who has the quieter afternoon.
It is the forward-thinking players that have grabbed the headlines, helping themselves to 21 league goals in five games, but Cech and his defence have yielded only Scott Parker's consolation strike at West Ham in that period, and the goalkeeper is keen to point out it is at the back where the best sides lay their foundations.
'Sometimes getting clean sheets and not conceding can be more crucial than scoring the goals. When you don't concede basically you only need to score one goal,' said the 6ft 4in stopper.
'We can say that because you can only build a team from defending well, it helps obviously when you need to start well. When you start scoring a lot of goals it is a big bonus.'
It has been said that today's opponents Manchester City will pose our first real test of the Barclays Premier League campaign, but Cech is keen to point out the benefit hindsight offers.
'It was a tricky start because last season at the beginning we went to play Wigan away and lost, it is not an easy game,' he said. 'Although we won 6-0 there, if you see the first 40 minutes it was a tough game.
'We scored at the perfect time and then two at the start of the second half and it finished 6-0 but for 40 minutes that game was really tough and we had to play well to make things happen and win the game. It is never easy to win a game in the Premier League wherever you go.'
That said then, he knows City will provide a stern examination as they aim to show their own title credentials. Cech believes the Eastlands club has everything in place to challenge, but may still need to gel as a unit.
'Money can't buy the success, you need a good team to win something, you need the spirit and the atmosphere in the dressing room and the club generally to be successful. You can put the best players together but it never means you will have a good team,' he explained.
'You have to have the players to build that spirit and atmosphere. If everyone is thinking about their ego then you can have a great manager, a great squad, great facilities but never a great team.'
Despite their vast outlay over the summer, it remains one of their cheaper acquisitions, goalkeeper Joe Hart (a £600,000 signing from Shrewsbury Town) who has Cech's attention after replacing Shay Given as City's preferred choice.
'I think it has been difficult for him at the start, he can see how highly rated, and rightly, Shay Given is, then suddenly got in front of him and had to show to everybody he deserved to play,' said the 28-year-old. 'He started with a fantastic game against Tottenham and has been playing well, started for the national team, and he came into the spotlight.
'Now people will watch him in a different way, he is not one of the candidates to be England's number one, now he is the number one and he has more pressure on. So far he has been doing really well.'
This afternoon's affair pits the league's two tightest defences against each other. Cech will be hoping that it is he who has the quieter afternoon.
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