The former Blues keeper came under scrutiny for his performance against Manchester City on Sunday
Adrian Clarke believes Petr Cech was Arsenal’s best player against Manchester City and therefore deserves to be Unai Emery’s No.1 this season.
The new Gunners boss confirmed on Thursday Cech would be his main man between the sticks, despite critics singling him out against City.
Despite making a string of crucial saves to limit the scoreline, the former Chelsea shot-stopper looked uncomfortable with the ball at his feet.
The signing of Bayer Leverkusen keeper Bernd Leno in the summer had many people convinced the 36-year-old’s days were numbered.
But Clarke, who watched his former side throughout pre-season, believes the criticism is unfounded.
“Too right he should play again,” he told talkSPORT 2.
“He was arguably Arsenal’s best player (against City)! I did the analysis for the club and when I compared him to the outfield players, I gave him the main man.
“He made three or four fantastic saves in that game.”
One particular moment had Arsenal fans everywhere fearing the worst as the former Czech Republic international rolled a backpass inches away from his own goal and out for a corner.
But with former Paris Saint-Germain boss Emery set to insist on playing out from the back, Clarke feels as though Cech should be given the nod ahead of his German counterpart.
After all, he was better than him during pre-season.
He added: “Personally, I was flabbergasted Leno didn’t play because Arsenal signed a new goalkeeper for a reason.
“They felt that they needed one, and having spent so much money on Leno, I expected him to start.
“But the truth is, Petr Cech was better than Leno in pre-season – he caught the manager’s eye.
“And he made the decision, not on transfer fees, but on form and he went with Petr Cech and he played really well.”
