It took forever but it has finally happened! After numerous failed attempts, the former Chelsea shot-stopper has reached the remarkable feat of 200 clean sheets and there is certainly no better way to earn it than to save a penalty!
Since, moving to the English Premier League from Rennes in 2004, the Czech Republic goalkeeper has slowly inscribed his name in the history books of the competition. His first personal major landmark was actualized when he finished the 2004/2005 season with 24 cleans sheets in 35 appearances - the highest tally by any goalkeeper in the history of the English top-flight league.
Čech further topped up his feat by becoming the first goalkeeper to keep 10 consecutive clean sheets, a feat which was later usurped by Edwin Van der Sar's 14 for Manchester United in the 2008-2009 season. Back in December 2015, Petr Čech surpassed David James’ 169 tally to become No. 1 on the list of goalkeepers with the most number of clean sheets while playing against AFC Bournemouth.
All in all, the current Arsenal goalkeeper has the most number of Premier League Golden Gloves – a feat which he shares with Joe Hart. The pair has won the accolade on four occasions since its inception in 2005. Of the 200 clean sheets amassed so far for the 35-year-old, 162 were collected while in post at Chelsea and the remaining 38 at Arsenal.
Here is how Petr Čech compares with the 13 others who make up the list of goalkeepers with 100 or more clean sheets:
[Source: Wikipedia]
