Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle: 5 Talking Points
Arsenal travailed to an important 1-0 home victory against Newcastle United to keep their position intact at the top of Premier League standings in what turned out to be a not-so-ideal game for the Gunners. After a rather uneventful first half in which both teams failed to create chances, it was Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny who broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute.So at a time when Leicester City have failed to win, Arsenal now extend their lead at the top of the League standings to 2 points above Leicester City and 3 points above Manchester City.Here are the major talking points from the game at the Emirates:
#1 Petr Cech is invaluable to Arsenal
It turned out to be yet another game and another clean sheet for Petr Cech. But against a resilient Newcastle side, Cech had to work very hard in order to save his side from going behind on separate occasions. At a time when the Arsenal defense looked rusty, Cech was always there to deny the likes of Wijnaldum and Mitrovic.
Chelsea captain John Terry had famously claimed that Petr Cech was worth between 12 to 15 points a season. So when he broke the Premier League record of clean sheets against Bournemouth last Monday, Petr Cech has now kept 9 clean sheets in just 20 League appearances for the Gunners this season. As a result, the Czech goalkeeper has already saved 12-15 points for Arsenal ever since making his move in the summer.
Cech denied Georginio Wijnaldum three times with super saves. The decisive contribution made by the goalkeeper kept Arsenal in the game and when they were put under significant first-half pressure, Cech was utterly faultless with his handling. His penalty area presence was also vast. Hence, the Czech Republic man is invaluable to the Gunners.