Petr Cech officially has the safest pair of hands the Premier League has ever seen.
Cech on Monday set a record for career shutouts in England’s top flight when he back-stopped Arsenal to a 2-0 win over Bournemouth. The shutout, or “clean sheet,” was the 170th of Cech’s Premier League career, which began in 2004 with Chelsea and continues to this day with Arsenal.
Cech, 33, passed former Liverpool goalkeeper David James, who used Twitter to congratulate the Arsenal shot-stopper.
James’ Premier League career began in 1992 and lasted until 2010. James required nearly two decades to reach a mark Cech hit in just over one.
After tying James’ record earlier this month, the Cech reflected on the scale of his Premier League accomplishment.
“I’m not really into the records and the individual trophies,” Cech told Arsenal’s website. “But some achievements you cannot ignore, and to be in a position where I can break the all-time clean sheet record is something that I never thought I would be able to do.
“You want to make sure you compete and perform every single game, that you prepare and show the example that you can stay consistent and at the top level as long as possible. I’m really happy that these things I’ve achieved, people realize that I’ve worked to achieve it, so the recognition is great.”
It’s fine for Cech to bask in the adulation at this point in his career. He has earned the right to do so.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@premierleague
