Although Arsene Wenger obviously knew what a top quality goalkeeper Petr Cech is before we signed him, he’s admitted that he’s surprised at how quickly the former Chelsea man has integrated into the team.

Cech kept his 170th clean sheet against Bournemouth on Monday, setting a new Premier League record and proving once against why he’s been a valuable signing.

Speaking ahead of Newcastle, Wenger admitted, “When you look at his record it is absolutely fantastic, because considering the number of games he played and the number of games he had a clean sheet, that speaks for itself.

“On top of that I must say I am surprised how quickly he integrated into our team. It looks like he has always played here for us… how quickly he became comfortable inside and important inside the team, is amazing.”

The fact that Cech has become a piece of the furniture at Arsenal so quickly and seamlessly shows just what a professional he is. He’s already formed several partnerships off the pitch, especially it seems with Per Mertesacker, and appears to truly be part of the family.

I don’t think Wenger’s the only one surprised. Cech’s first game against for us West Ham was a little nervy but that could be said for the whole team. Since then, he’s returned to the fantastic goalkeeper we’ve always known him to be.