Unai Emery heaps praise on Petr Cech after fine Arsenal performance

THE sight of Arsenal’s No.1 chipping the ball over an onrushing forward a spraying a pass out to a teammate would have pleased Gunners fans, but the man in charge at the Emirates couldn’t have been happier.

Petr Cech has stepped up for the Gunners.

ARSENAL boss Unai Emery says he is “very happy” with goalkeeper Petr Cech, and is surprised so many questions are asked of him.

Cech put in a man-of-the-match performance as Arsenal beat Everton 2-0 at The Emirates on Super Sunday, handing Emery his fifth straight win in all competitions.

Emery brought Bernd Leno to the club in the summer from Bayer Leverkusen, and though many thought Cech would lose his starting spot in the Premier League, he has remained Emery’s first choice.

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Emery said: “I think we need every goalkeeper, and today Petr Cech today was very important.

“I’m very happy with the goalkeeper, and how they are all working for us, Emiliano [Martinez], [Bernd] Leno and Cech. I think Cech has a big experience, big quality, he started the pre-season very well, and we think he is in a performance we want.

“Today he showed us he is very well and is continuing with this work and this spirit every day. The other goalkeepers are the same, very well, and need to continue working for when the team needs.

Cech mast a last-gasp challenge on Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

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“I think Leno is calm. He knows now he is working well. But also we have three goalkeepers, and Cech put in a good performance. We are going to give them possibilities to play, chances to play. It is good for the team, good for the goalkeepers.

“I am a little surprised at a lot of questions for Cech, because I think in the position, and also in the first match with us, he has played with a good performance.

“I think it is good for Leno to learn every day with a goalkeeper like Petr Cech, to learn with him, to give him the experience. Leno is younger, and we want, he wants, and he is coming here for a big future.

“But now, they are very competitive for the position, and Petr Cech for us is also very important.”

Lacazette’s fine opening goal came against the run of play, with Everton creating several chances to score at The Emirates as Arsenal struggled to find rhythm in front of goal.

Emery hinted he was about to bring Lacazette off before he scored, admitting something needed to change at that point.

Asked if he was about to make a sub, Emery answered: “Yeah. We needed change in this moment, another individual quality, another individual pushing, but with the goal I decided to stop and think again who we need next.

Asked if Lacazette was due to be subbed off, Emery smiled and stayed silent, before replying when asked again: “I think it is not important. Or maybe yeah! Football is like that.”

This story originally appeared on Sky Sports.

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Cech and Pickford embrace after the game.

Originally published as Unai Emery heaps praise on Petr Cech after fine Arsenal performance