Arsene Wenger has praised Petr Cech once again on his recent clean sheet record and revealed that he believes goalkeeper is the most underrated position in football.

This is a view Wenger and I have had in common for a while. As much as strikers and other prolific goalscorers deserve the praise they get for netting goals as, on the surface, that’s what wins games, it means people tend to brush over the achievements at the other end.

“I said many times that it is maybe the most underrated position in football and goalkeepers are more important than everybody thinks,” the boss said in his pre-Newcastle press conference.

Keeping a clean sheet and therefore preventing the other team from winning is another huge part of the victory. It doesn’t matter if we’re banging in goals at the other end if the opposition outscore us.

In addition, goalkeeper is a pretty unique position. They’re standing alone for large periods of the game and often have to be called into action in a split second. It therefore makes some of the saves Cech’s made for us this season look even more impressive.