Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has revealed the players who he tried to base his playing style on, and both played some of their best years at Manchester United.
The former Chelsea shot-stopper will go down as a legend of the Premier League era, having set the record for fastest 100 clean sheets, taking just 180 outings to achieve that, and currently holds the record for most clean sheets in the Premier League era also.
Cech has now revealed his inspiration for his style, and names United legend Peter Schmeichel as the first, followed by Edwin Van Der Sar.
Petr Cech said: “Peter Schmeichel, because you could see his huge presence in the Man United goal and then I think as well that at that time he had a different approach to any other goalkeeper,” Cech told the official Arsenal website.
“Everybody else played on the line and he was more advanced.
“He was more aggressive in his positioning, cutting down the angles, and he was not afraid to take more risks.
“So I think that was something you look up at and you think about. His presence and influence in the box was big.”
“Then there’s Edwin van der Sar,” the fomer Chelsea star continued.
“When he started playing for Ajax, suddenly they used him as a defender when they needed to keep possession.
“When there were difficult moments they just passed it back to him and he played.
“That was the first team you saw at that time really using the goalkeeper as a member of the team to play, not only to play a goal-kick and be there to save the ball.”
Was Van Der Sar really the first to play as a sweeper keeper? Are these two the top goalkeepers in recent history?
Pat J