Cedric Soares cannot put his finger on exactly why he has been a fighter throughout his whole career.
As a youngster, he was one of the darlings of Sporting Lisbon’s academy, “a pretty boy”, he says, but when he made the jump to the first team that changed.
“I was a pretty boy in terms of everyone already knew me in the youth team,” he tells Standard Sport. “I was the captain of the youth national team, captain of Sporting Lisbon’s [youth team].
“I was growing in this beautiful world and sometimes you need this shock. I came to the first team and I was 19 years old, in one season I played five or six games. It was a shock.
“I asked to go on loan, I went on loan. I fought for what I got, nobody gave me anything. I am very proud of it.”
Just like back then, the hard work is paying off for the 30-year-old right-back, as his fine form for Arsenal earned him a recall to the Portugal squad.
Cedric has excelled so much for Arsenal over the past few months that even though Takehiro Tomiyasu could be fit to face Crystal Palace tonight, the Japan international faces a fight to win his place back.
“You need to believe in yourself,” says Cedric. “I came to Arsenal because of what I did in my career and by doing every week what I aim for. I was fighting for it and then achieved this.
“And now, I need to fight for my spot. This is completely natural and normal. You need to keep working and believing in your skills, knowledge, performance and mentality.
“In a natural way the truth always comes out. As we say in Portugal, it’s like water in olive oil, the truth comes to the top.
“I used to have one of my biggest friends growing up, maybe even now he is still one of my closest friends, when he didn’t play he was completely gone, upset and wouldn’t talk to the coach.
“You can be upset — you are human — but what you cannot do is stop trying and stop fighting.
“Maybe it’s from my family or the way I grow up, but I just try to focus on my job and treat my training like a game. When I am not playing, the training is a game.”
Cedric’s hard work has certainly not gone unnoticed by those at Arsenal and particularly Mikel Arteta. There has been a huge turnover of players at Arsenal, especially at right-back, but Cedric is still at the club, which shows how much he is valued.
In a developing squad, someone with the experience of Cedric, who won the Euros with Portugal in 2016, is valuable and he believes that mix of young and old is vital.
“In the difficult moments you need some older players to step up,” he says. “It’s important to have this balance.
“Imagine one day you have fans booing you and the young kids have never experienced this. The experienced players will say, ‘Keep going, don’t worry about the outside’.”
Right now, though, there is a swell of positivity behind Arsenal. They are the favourites to finish in the Premier League’s top four this season and their young players are shining.
Cedric has been impressed by the young Gunners, particularly their attitude, and Gabriel Martinelli is one who has especially caught his eye.
“Gabi has this aim for goal. He likes to attack the space, like Cristiano [Ronaldo],” Cedric says. “He likes to score goals, like everyone does.
“But Gabi has this willingness to fight. Even when he doesn’t play, he keeps working the same way. He is an easy young kid to talk with. You talk and you can see he listens to you. He’s talented, but the way he works is fantastic.”
At the heart of Arsenal’s turnaround is Arteta, and Cedric has relished his time working with the Spaniard.
You travel somewhere and you see someone that supports Arsenal. It’s incredible, another dimension.
“He is a demanding coach in a lot of moments,” he says. “I wouldn’t say strict. Strict is a strong word. I had coaches who were maybe more strict than him. He has a very good balance.
“He is the most complete coach in every detail, he works on everything. There is not one area that maybe you don’t see and that he doesn’t work on. Every process is clear for everyone.”
Arteta has managed to unify Arsenal and Cedric says “everyone is fighting for the same goals” as they push to qualify for the Champions League.
Achieving that would be some feat by Arsenal, especially given their start to the season, but Cedric believes it is where the Gunners belong.
“It’s a massive club,” he says. “You travel somewhere and you see someone that supports Arsenal.
“It’s incredible. It’s in another dimension. I feel proud to be able to play here. I feel at home.”
