At the start of the Premier League season, not many had expected Petr Cech to remain as Arsenal goalkeeper following the signing of Bernd Leno.
But the Czech international has played in all four of the Gunners’ Premier League games so far, with new manager Unai Emery keeping faith in a man some believe should be second choice.
Cech has come under criticism at times in the opening four matches, with his lack of confidence with the ball at his feet a big talking point.
The 36-year-old was once again in the spotlight in Arsenal’s win over Cardiff City on Sunday after struggling to deal with Cardiff’s high press and almost gifting a goal to midfielder Harry Arter.
Arsenal boss Emery has again leapt to the defence of his goalkeeper, insisting that Cech is performing at a good level this season.
“He has experience. He is intelligent. He is doing what we want, to build up our job on the pitch,” he told reporters (via Goal).
“It’s very important for me to continue doing this and to keep improving.
“If you play long balls every time, you lose personality, you lose moments on the pitch. So, for that, we take a little risk, but when you break this risk and break their [the opposition’s] pressing on the pitch, you can find space to attack.
“For that, it’s clear maybe you can do one mistake, like today, but we need to continue with this personality.”
Despite the criticism he has received this season, Cech has been one of the busiest, and most successful, goalkeepers when it comes to passing.
No goalkeeper has played more passes than Cech in the Premier League, with the Arsenal man attempting 140 in his four games so far.
Cech has also completed more passes than any other Premier League goalkeeper with 100, but he does not have the best passing accuracy.
The best passing accuracy among all goalkeepers to have played 20 or more passes belongs to Liverpool man Alisson, who has completed 85.71% of his 98 attempted passes.
Alisson also boasts the best accuracy for attempted long passes, completing 23 of his 35 attempts at an accuracy of 65.71%.
Every Premier League goalkeeper’s distribution ranked by overall accuracy
1. Alisson (Liverpool)
Total passes completed: 84 (85.71%)
Short passes completed: 61 (96.83%)
Long balls completed: 23 (65.71%)
2. Ederson (Man City)
Total passes completed: 76 (80%)
Short passes completed: 66 (95.65%)
Long balls completed: 10 (38.46%)
3. Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea)
Total passes completed: 85 (75.89%)
Short passes completed: 63 (98.44%)
Long balls completed: 22 (45.83%)
4. Petr Cech (Arsenal)
Total passes completed: 100 (71.43%)
Short passes completed: 79 (96.34%)
Long balls completed: 21 (36.21%)
5. Fabri (Fulham)
Total passes completed: 32 (68.09%)
Short passes completed: 16 (100%)
Long balls completed: 16 (51.61%)
6. Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
Total passes completed: 64 (67.37%)
Short passes completed: 44 (97.78%)
Long balls completed: 20 (40%)
7. Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester)
Total passes completed: 66 (66%)
Short passes completed: 37 (100%)
Long balls completed: 29 (46.03%)
8. Marcus Bettinelli (Fulham)
Total passes completed: 42 (65.83%)
Short passes completed: 23 (95.83%)
Long balls completed: 19 (47.5%)
9. Jonas Lossl (Huddersfield)
Total passes completed: 18 (60%)
Short passes completed: 5 (83.33%)
Long balls completed: 13 (52%)
10. Asmir Begovic (Bournemouth)
Total passes completed: 48 (57.83%)
Short passes completed: 27 (100%)
Long balls completed: 21 (37.5%)
11. Rui Patricio (Wolves)
Total passes completed: 47 (55.29%)
Short passes completed: 17 (100%)
Long balls completed: 30 (44.12%)
12. Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace)
Total passes completed: 57 (54.81%)
Short passes completed: 20 (95.24%)
Long balls completed: 37 (44.58%)
13. David de Gea (Man Utd)
Total passes completed: 55 (50%)
Short passes completed: 24 (92.31%)
Long balls completed: 31 (36.90%)
14. Alex McCarthy (Southampton)
Total passes completed: 43 (48.86%)
Short passes completed: 13 (92.86%)
Long balls completed: 30 (40.54%)
15. Joe Hart (Burnley)
Total passes completed: 58 (48.74%)
Short passes completed: 14 (100%)
Long balls completed: 44 (41.9%)
16. Ben Hamer (Huddersfield)
Total passes completed: 37 (48.68%)
Short passes completed: 7 (100%)
Long balls completed: 30 (43.48%)
17. Lukasz Fabianski (West Ham)
Total passes completed: 40 (45.45%)
Short passes completed: 13 (100%)
Long balls completed: 27 (41.54%)
18. Martin Dubravka (Newcastle)
Total passes completed: 53 (45.3%)
Short passes completed: 25 (96.15%)
Long balls completed: 28 (30.77%)
19. Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Total passes completed: 54 (42.52%)
Short passes completed: 26 (96.30%)
Long balls completed: 28 (28%)
20. Mat Ryan (Brighton)
Total passes completed: 43 (40.57%)
Short passes completed: 8 (100%)
Long balls completed: 35 (35.71%)
21. Ben Foster (Watford)
Total passes completed: 46 (35.66%)
Short passes completed: 12 (100%)
Long balls completed: 34 (29.06%)
22. Neil Etheridge (Cardiff)
Total passes completed: 33 (31.73%)
Short passes completed: 2 (100%)
Long balls completed: 31 (30.39%)
The post Emery tells Cech Arsenal will continue their Premier League-high back-passing trend appeared first on Squawka News.
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