Petr Cech can be the difference in the title race... Arsenal got lucky when they signed him, admits Mathieu Flamini

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Mathieu Flamini admits Arsenal have 'got lucky' with Petr Cech and urged his team-mates to make Chelsea pay for the decision.

Flamini was stunned to find Jose Mourinho had not done more to stop Cech's £10million move across London from Stamford Bridge to the Emirates Stadium.

He believes it can be the difference in the title race.

Petr Cech joined Arsenal from Chelsea for £10m in one of the most important deals of the summer

'I was surprised by Mourinho because he really doesn't do that,' said Flamini. 'He's a competitor and usually doesn't like to sell any players to his rivals.

'But it's a good favour for us and we have to take advantage. It's a top signing. That's why we have been lucky on this one. It's very important. Not only for his quality but also for his character.

'When you play at the top level, the leaders on the pitch make the difference. Not only when things go well but especially when things go bad. So, for us, Petr Cech is a top signing. He is someone with character, someone with a winning mentality.'

The London rivals meet at Wembley on Sunday in the FA Community Shield, with Arsenal hoping for signs that, this season, they will launch a genuine challenge for the Barclays Premier League.

'It's true, Chelsea have given us a lot of pain over the years,' said Flamini. 'They deserved to win the Premier League last year. They had a strong start and kept winning.

'But this is a new start, a new beginning. Everyone starts at the same level. It is up to us to prove we have the quality to win it.'

Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Olivier Giroud wear 'Cech' masks with the goalkeeper

The mood is good inside the Arsenal camp after winning the FA Cup twice and enhanced by the arrival of Cech.

'There's a lot of confidence because we are starting to win,' said Flamini. 'For 10 years Arsenal didn't win anything and we have won the FA Cup twice and it's starting to become in the mentality. Winning is very important. That's the first point.

'Then also, we have attracted a lot of quality to the team with some very big signings. We have kept the same group. Nobody left, and that's very important because when you keep your key players, keep the same group, year after year, players get used to playing together.

'If you remember before, there were always a few players leaving and now he is keeping the players together and that's very important.

Mathieu Flamini (second left) believes Arsenal were lucky to sign Cech this summer

'We play to win the Premier League and the Champions League. Arsenal is one of the best clubs in Europe.

'Of course, we also consider the FA Cup. We have won it for the last two years and we want to keep going. I think we have a lot of quality in the team. We have been playing together for a few years. The coach kept the group together. So I think we have a very good chance.'

Flamini is in his second spell at the Emirates Stadium, returning after spending five years at AC Milan, and feels the mentality has changed.

'I can feel Arsenal now is different to the club I left in 2008,' said the 31-year-old. 'I don't think any of the key players left in the last two years. It's a great example. And each year we have added quality players like Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Petr Cech.

'These are players who can make the difference at any moment. When you play with offensive players like Ozil and Sanchez it adds a lot of creativity and options to the team.'