Arsenal coach Unai Emery has commented on the goalkeeping matter at Arsenal that has received alot of scrutiny. Emery has stated that newly acquired Bernd Leno must wait for his chance to get into the first team.
Leno arrived at Arsenal this summer from Bayer Leverkusen. The German was expected by many to play in goal during the Gunners 2-0 loss against Manchester City on Sunday. However, Emery instead opted to utilize the veteran Petr Cech in goal. Cech was decent enough on the day. While a 2-0 loss was not the way that Emery would have wanted to start his tenure as new Gunners boss, the result came against City who are perhaps the strongest side in the Premier League on paper.
“We want the competition between the goalkeepers and also every player in the squad. Despite the position, it is the same opportunity and the same chances for all the goalkeepers. We spoke also and Petr Cech, he is doing very well. Today as well, I think he played well also. He has this experience for continuing to defend our goal. Also, Leno is starting with us. He is working very well, he played well in pre-season too but he has to wait for his chance to arrive”, Emery told the Arsenal website.
Emery’s comments suggest that neither keeper is assured of a place in the first team. If the 36-year-old Cech has a bad day as he had many last season, he may end up losing his place in the side.
He is the former captain for the Czech Republic national team. Čech has previously played for Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, Rennes and Chelsea. He is the most capped player in the history of the Czech national team with 124 caps, and represented the country at the 2006 World Cup, as well as the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016European Championships. He was voted into the Euro 2004 all-star team after helping the Czechs reach the semi-finals.
Čech also received the individual award of Best Goalkeeper in the 2004–05, 2006–07 and 2007–08seasons of the UEFA Champions League. In addition, he was named in the FIFPro and UEFA Champions League team of the season in 2006. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most respected goalkeepers of his generation.
Čech joined Chelsea in 2004 and made 486 official appearances for the club, making him the club’s highest overseas appearance maker and sixth in its all-time appearances list. With Chelsea, Čech won four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, one UEFA Europa League and one UEFA Champions League. Čech kept a club record 220 clean sheets for Chelsea in all competitions.
Čech holds a number of goalkeeping records, including the Premier League record for fewest appearances required to reach 100 clean sheets, having done so in 180 league appearances, the most number of clean sheets in a season (24), as well as the record for the most clean sheets in Premier League history. At the end of the 2017–18 season, the record stood at 201. During the 2004–05 season, Čech went 1,025 minutes without conceding a goal – a Premier League record, until it was surpassed by Edwin van der Sar of Manchester United on 27 January 2009.
Čech is the only goalkeeper to have won the Golden Glove with two separate clubs, winning it a joint record four times; in 2004–05, 2009–10, 2013–14 and the 2015–16. Additionally he holds a Czech professional league record of not conceding a goal in 903 competitive minutes, a club record at his former club Sparta Prague, having gone 928 minutes unbeaten in all competitions in 2001–02, when his unbeaten run in the Czech First League was combined with his performances in the Champions League. On top of this he holds the record for the number of Czech Footballer of the Year and Czech Golden Ball wins.