Arsenal custodian Petr Cech, on Sunday, starred in the Gunners’ 3-0 win over Watford, bringing up an unprecedented 200th Premier League clean-sheet in style as he saved a second-half penalty from Troy Deeney and his teammates showered him with praise on Twitter after his momentous feat.
Fullback Hector Bellerin was effusive in his praise:
Congrats @PetrCech on your 200th @premierleague clean sheet. It’s a blessing to learn from you every day! pic.twitter.com/gkrnTMkr0i
— Héctor Bellerín (@HectorBellerin) March 11, 2018
Experienced stopper Shkodran Mustafi, who was among the goals on Sunday, didn’t hold back in his adulation either:
🔙🔛🔝 Let your game do the talking 😉 Glad to have scored @arsenal‘s 1000th @premierleague goal at home. Congrats @PetrCech – 200 clean sheets, what an achievement! 💪🏼🔴 #coyg #arswat #sm20 pic.twitter.com/1V7SiiT682
— Shkodran Mustafi (@MustafiOfficial) March 11, 2018
Nacho Monreal was appreciative of his teammate as well:
Congratulations my friend @PetrCech on your 200 @premierleague clean sheets, what an achievement!! 🔝 pic.twitter.com/0PCBzgQDuA
— Nacho Monreal (@_nachomonreal) March 11, 2018
Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker, who’s due to retire at the end of the current season, penned:
Job well done boys! Congrats @PetrCech on your 200th clean sheet! 👏🏻 #WeAreTheArsenal #COYG pic.twitter.com/5sXwB43kee
— Per Mertesacker (@mertesacker) March 11, 2018
Centre-back Rob Holding tweeted:
Another solid performance from the team today. Big congrats to @PetrCech on your 200th @premierleague clean sheet! #COYG pic.twitter.com/fwWnrP8owu
— Rob Holding (@RobHolding95) March 11, 2018
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, in his post-match interview to Arsenal Media, expressed, “Petr Cech shows a little bit how quickly things change in football. He was in hell last week and in heaven today. But, I would like to personally congratulate him for a remarkable achievement. I have a huge respect for consistency. It shows a huge level of motivation and intelligence, and he shows plenty of that.”
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And the man of the hour, Cech himself, was visibly delighted as he admitted his relief at crossing the milestone after an almost-unbearable wait.
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“It’s been a while and I have to say that it’s never happened that I’ve had to wait for 11 games for a clean sheet. In the stretch, it was quite frustrating at times. We had so many games where we had a big result, especially at home when you take the games against Everton and Crystal Palace. In the end, you are 4-0 up and we conceded late goals. Sometimes you go through stretches like that as a team, as an individual and obviously you have to find your way out,” the 35-year-old Czech goalkeeper added.