There were not many standout contenders for an individual Man of the Match performance from Arsenal’s perspective during Sunday’s derby, but Petr Čech has earned some praise from Arsene Wenger after an impressive goalkeeping display.

Wenger was understandably frustrated after our 2-0 north London derby defeat and when questioned, highlighted the 34-year-old as one of Arsenal’s best on another forgettable afternoon in the Premier League.

Čech has been subject of heavy criticism for his underwhelming performances this term, but could not be blamed for another defeat on this occasion. Making a handful of commendable saves to keep Arsenal in the game, his performance helped silence critics – at least for one weekend.

After the game, Wenger said, “He [Čech] had an outstanding performance. He was one of the players who turned up today and it shows that he still has it at the top level.”

Two goals in the space of three second-half minutes saw Arsenal’s chances disintegrate in typical fashion.

“It’s a big blow [to concede two goals so quickly] but I think on the first goal we were a bit naive and that was disappointing.

“We lack something at the moment that is a mixture of confidence, creativity, quality to finish what we start.

“I think recently the team is still not completely back to the confidence level that is needed.”