Arsène Wenger has defended summer signing Petr Čech and backed the goalkeeper to bounce back after a disappointing Premier League debut for Arsenal last Sunday.

Čech was arguably to blame for both of West Ham’s goals in Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat, but has the experience and ability to show he was worth the reported £11M that Wenger paid for the former Chelsea goalkeeper this summer.

“He is a great goalkeeper and needs to focus on the next one,” Wenger said. Čech will be in goal for Sunday’s visit to Crystal Palace, and his manager says he has recovered from the mistakes last weekend.

“He analyses it very well, he is a bright player, bright man and he knows that it is down to how well he responds to that.”

The 33 year-old won everything during his time at Stamford Bridge, and comes across as an incredibly motivated and intelligent individual.

Wenger couldn’t explain Čech’s errors at Emirates Stadium, but believes he was only trying to help the team.

“Maybe wanting to save the team in a situation where the defending was not great.”

West Ham’s Cheikh Kouyaté was free at the near post and, as Čech misjudged a ball in, nodded in with ease. Had the marking been better the Czech international may not have come off his line.

That, however, has been and gone. Čech and his defenders are only likely to learn from the errors made last week, and they will get to know how each other plays much better over the course of the season.