Arsenal’s Petr Cech first keeper to 200 Premier League clean sheets

Petr Cech finally kept his 200th Premier League clean sheet on Sunday as Arsenal ended their run of 11 top-flight games without a shutout.

Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Watford at the Emirates Stadium saw Cech reach another landmark as he saved a penalty for the first time in his Gunners career.

The 35-year-old denied Hornets captain Troy Deeney from 12 yards — five months after the same player had criticised Arsenal for their lack of ‘cojones’ following Watford’s 2-1 victory over the Gunners earlier in the season.

Stopper Cech’s landmark shutout came in a 3-0 victory over Watford at the Emirates Stadium

Thirty-five-year-old Cech saved a penalty from Watford captain Troy Deeney during the match

Cech said of his 200th clean sheet on Sky Sports: ‘It’s an unbelievable personal milestone, obviously.

‘We took only 18 games to get nine clean sheets at the start of the season to reach the 199 and we had to wait 11 games, which is sometimes frustrating. But the most important thing is when the team wins.’

The clean sheet was Cech’s 38th in the PL for Arsenal, with the vast majority having come during his time at Chelsea.

Arsenal’s win ended their run of four straight defeats in domestic competitions and Cech admitted it has been a tough recent period.

He added: ‘When you are in the difficult moment and you have a run of results which go against you, you need to look at yourself and find the way out.

‘We had a big result in Milan and I thought we carried this determination today against a very good side.

‘It was not as easy as the score says because we scored those goals in the right moments.’ 

Former Chelsea man Cech and Deeney shook hands following the final whistle in north London

Cech told Sky Sports after the match: ‘It’s an unbelievable personal milestone, obviously’