Petr Čech insists Unai Emery has given him no assurances over the first-choice spot at Arsenal, and the decision is just down to how well he plays.

Many Arsenal fans were surprised to see Čech start over the weekend, given the summer acquisition of Bernd Leno. The German joined on a club-record fee for a goalkeeper, so you’d expect him to be straight into the team after completing a full pre-season.

Nonetheless, Čech started on Sunday against the champions. He insisted afterwards that he hasn’t been given any guarantees by head coach Unai Emery though, and selection simply depends on performances.

“The manager has not told me I am now first-choice,” said Cech. “I was told I was starting the game (against Manchester City) and it will be up to me how well I play. It was a challenge and obviously I was happy to get the nod today but nothing is finished.”

If that’s true, it should be a good thing for Arsenal. The best performing goalkeeper should get chances regardless of whether they’re the most senior, or they have the number 1 shirt, or any other factors that aren’t performance based.

At the same time, you don’t want goalkeepers to think they’re going to be dropped every time they make a mistake. That just makes them more nervous and more likely to do something stupid trying to make an impression.

A certain amount of consistency is good, as long as you also know when it’s the right time to make a change. Hopefully Emery can find that balance.