Mauricio Pochettino praised Petr Čech for his solid goalkeeping performance in Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

The Tottenham boss thought his side should’ve won even more convincingly than they did, and Arsenal had their number 33 to thank for the game remaining so close.

“After 20, 25 minutes of the second half the score should have been three or four-nil but sometimes that happens when you create a lot of chances,” Pochettino told his post-match press conference.

“Čech was very good, we didn’t score and we suffered a little at the end.”

The 35-year-old made six saves in the match at Wembley, and only conceded to a point blank header from Harry Kane.

Four of those saves came in a 20 minutes period in the second half after that goal. As well as shot stopping, Čech did enough to put Dele Alli and Erik Lamela off one-one-ones late on.

Other than one nervy moment when the Czech international kicked the ball into Alli from a few yards away, he was solid throughout. He deserves as much praise for that as the rest of the team deserve criticism for not taking advantage at the other end.

If Alexandre Lacazette had taken his chance in the final moments, Arsenal would have Čech to thank for the draw.

Unfortunately, he didn’t, and, instead, all the goalkeeper’s heroics meant nothing. They did, however, send a message to everyone who thinks the former Chelsea man is finished at the top level.