Petr Cech: Arsenal benefit from their goalkeeper supreme yet again as Stoke are frozen out

Cech him out: Goalkeeper was the Gunners' only signing last summer
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James Olley18 January 2016

John Terry’s claim that Petr Cech could be worth 12-15 points to Arsenal during the season is looking more accurate with each passing week.

Chalk up one more here. That said, the Gunners were not under siege at Stoke in the manner they have become accustomed to in recent years.

Indeed, the home side were indebted to their own goalkeeper, Jack Butland, for several key saves — particularly two from Olivier Giroud, one in each half — as Arsenal sporadically threatened a winning goal to open up a clear lead at the top of the Premier League table.

But Cech helped solidify a Gunners defence that has wilted on this very ground so many times before; this was Arsenal’s second clean sheet at Stoke in 26 years.

They owed it to a series of telling interventions after the break, as Stoke generated a momentum that briefly suggested they could add Arsene Wenger’s side to a list of scalps this season including Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.

Interviewed together afterwards, Butland hailed Cech’s ability to produce such quality after lengthy periods of inertia.

Maintaining concentration to act efficiently when otherwise dormant for such long periods is a hallmark of the goalkeeping greats and a skill even more admired when exhibited in yesterday’s freezing conditions at the Britannia Stadium.

Cech may even have welcomed the activity as the sun set and the temperature plummeted on a bitterly cold Midlands evening. He dealt with balls into his box — a habitual failing of past Arsenal goalkeepers here — with consummate professionalism and produced an excellent double save when Joselu cut inside Laurent Koscielny and unleashed a fierce shot at goal.

Cech repelled his effort and climbed to his feet in time to push Bojan’s follow-up behind for a corner. Combine that with another save from Joselu at the death, as Stoke came close to snatching victory, and his contribution has once again proved pivotal.

Player Ratings: Stoke City vs Arsenal

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Of course, there is no way to quantify Cech’s worth in pure points gained but Stoke can be added to a list of opponents including Liverpool (at home), Sunderland, Bournemouth and Newcastle where he had a tangible impact on the outcome.

Critics would argue the blame for Arsenal’s opening day defeat by West Ham could easily be laid at his door but there is no doubt Cech remains in considerable credit following his £10million move from Chelsea last summer.

The Cech effect goes beyond his ability between the posts. It was telling that Theo Walcott told this newspaper after the game that Cech was the player lifting his team-mates after their second successive draw and accentuating the positives as Arsenal maintain their position at the summit.

With both sides missing their diminutive playmakers — Mesut Ozil is set to return from a toe problem for Sunday’s game against Chelsea, while Xherdan Shaqiri is also soon expected to overcome a hamstring injury — this game descended into a battle more akin to the days when Tony Pulis set the tone for this fixture.

And, significantly, Arsenal did not wilt. Mohamed Elneny, last week’s £7m acquisition from Basle, was an unused substitute and as such could witness at close quarters the more brutal extremities of a League to which he must now adapt.

Without Elneny and Francis Coquelin, Mathieu Flamini helped Arsenal dig in to earn the kind of draw that may provoke disappointment now but in the wider context of such a turbulent and unpredictable Premier League season, should in fact satisfy the visitors for the time being.

Stoke supporters, who disappointingly chose to berate Aaron Ramsey once again after he suffered a broken leg in this fixture six years ago and opted against immediately forgiving the aggressor, Ryan Shawcross, filed out of the Britannia singing Butland’s name. His form has been excellent this season but there is unlikely to be a single Arsenal fan who would trade him for Cech at present.

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