Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has urged his club's supporters to show respect to his former teammate Petr Cech, as he prepares to line up against the Blues to make his Arsenal debut in the Community Shield match at Wembley on Sunday.
Cech ended his 11-year stay at Stamford Bridge as he made the switch across London to Arsenal earlier this month, with some Blues fans expressing their frustration at a transfer that Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho admitted he would have stopped if he had the final say on the move.
Yet Ivanovic believes the keeper that won four Premier League titles during his time at Chelsea should not be jeered by his former supporters this weekend, even though he is now wearing the colours of one of their chief rivals. The Czech international was ousted from the Blues first team by Belgian stopper Thibaut Courtois.
"I hope they will give respect to him because he deserves it," Ivanovic said. "For 90 minutes the fans will support us for sure, they will be on our side. Before and after the game, I hope and I'm sure, they will give Petr respect.
"Petr knows us very well and for him it will be much more difficult mentally to play against the club he loves. It will be a very interesting game for him and how he prepares to play against us. But we know how good he is and how difficult it will be to score against him. We will try to do everything.
"I have seen him many times over the years make big saves to help us. He gave a lot to everyone at Chelsea.
"We can be proud for the rest of our lives because of the part Petr played in our success. This is in the past now and things have changed, things are different. He will want to beat us to the trophy now, but we want it as well."
Ivanovic went on to compare Cech's appearance against Chelsea with the occasions that saw his fellow Blues legends Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba line up against their former club in recent years.
"Facing a former teammate happens in football all the time and will happen again," he added. "This is something you have to adapt to. We have experienced before with Lampard at Manchester City last season and Didier with Galatasaray the season before.
"We knew how much they would give to their new sides and Petr will be the same. So we have to be ready and know how strong we have to be. Despite Petr's affection for the club, he obviously won't be looking to do us any favours."