Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has defended Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech.
The former Chelsea man Cech is widely regarded as one of the best keepers of the modern generation.
The veteran has however been prone to making basic goalkeeping errors during recent years and has tended to suffer from lapses of concentration at times as well as make mistakes with his ball distribution.
Some suggest that he is starting to lose his shot-stopping ability due to age and that Unai Emery should opt to utilize Bernd Leno in goal instead.
Leno was brought to the Emirates from Bayer Leverkusen during the summer seemingly with a view to becoming Cech’s successor.
Many expected that the German international would start this season as Emery’s number one and Cech was even linked with a move away from the Emirates.
So far however, Emery has opted to select Cech for all four of the League games which the Gunners have played in.
Considering that Arsenal have won their last two successive top-flight encounters, Emery will be expected to retain Cech in goal when his club plays against Newcastle next weekend.
Pickford who is regarded as one of the best up and coming keepers in England has praised the former Czech Republic international.
As quoted by The Mirror, he said: “He (Cech) has been top keeper in the Premier League for the last ten or 12 years. He’s a keeper when you’re growing up you see him making these saves week in week out.
“He’s probably been the most consistent goalkeeper in these last 10 years in the Premier League, so you can’t give him too much criticism.
“I’m certainly not giving him any, I think he’s a great goalkeeper and someone you look up to.
“But it’s a way of playing out from the back, you don’t have to do it all the time. Look at Ederson a few weeks ago getting the assist with (Sergio) Aguero.
“Obviously I’ve got it in my locker as well. I haven’t pulled an assist off yet. I nearly got one the other day against Bournemouth , so I was disappointed.
“It’s about the right time of doing it. You don’t have to play out every time, you might’ve had a spell of five minutes where you’ve been under a lot of pressure and you need to calm the game down.”
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