Arsenal were hugely thankful for goalkeeper Petr Cech in the 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough.

The former Chelsea goalkeeper produced a string of excellent saves to keep the newly promoted team at bay. It was a rather surprising performance from the home team at the Emirates stadium. Arsenal came into the game with an opportunity to stretch ahead in the Premier League title race. After Tottenham could only manage a 0-0 draw against newly promoted Bournemouth, Arsenal were eyeing the top spot with a couple of points ahead of the chasing pack.

This was not to be as Middlesbrough produced a stunning performance even when playing away from home. After having taken just one victory from the eight games so far, Boro were unlikely candidates to get anything out of the game. However, they produced a chance after chance in the 90 minutes even when not dominating the ball. They played mostly on the counter-attack and had three excellent shots on target. It required excellent saves from Cech, who has been an important player for Arsenal ever since moving to the club last summer. His former Chelsea counterpart Mark Schwarzer claimed that Cech is now one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League.

Other names who can fight for the spot are David de Gea and Hugo Lloris. “The one goalkeeper you expected to have a quieter game was the busier of the two. For me Petr Cech is the best goalkeeper in the Premier League and probably has been for the last few years.I’ve had the privilege to work with him, I class him as a good mate and he’s an incredible professional.He stands big and he really kept Arsenal in the match which was quite strange considering nobody gave Middlesbrough a chance,” said Schwarzer when analysing the game.