Some said Petr Cech’s £10 mn arrival from Chelsea could tip the balance of power in the title race in Arsenal’s favour. PHOTO/AFP

LONDON, December 29 – Petr Cech set a new Premier League clean sheets record with his shutout in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth.

The goalkeeper has now kept 170 clean sheets in 352 Premier League appearances, putting him clear of second-placed David James (169 clean sheets) and Mark Schwarzer in third (152).

Cech joined the Gunners in a £10m deal last summer and his eighth clean sheet for the club helped them return to the top of the Premier League.

Cech had previously kept the opposition at bay on a remarkable 162 occasions during his 11 years with Chelsea.

As well as Cech and Schwarzer – Leicester City’s reserve goalkeeper – Everton’s Tim Howard is the only other current player in the top 10 Premier League clean sheets list.

Cech said: “It’s a great personal achievement and I felt really proud at the end of the game because if you look at the names in the clean sheet numbers and you see all those fantastic goalkeepers who had been playing and are still playing in this league then obviously it is a great achievement to top the list.

“I’m very pleased after the game we had at Southampton that the clean sheet brought three points as well because we won 2-0.”

Most Premier League clean sheets

Rank   Player             Clean sheets             Matches

1          Petr Cech       170     352

2          David James             169     572

3          Mark Schwarzer        152     514

4          David Seaman          142     344

5          Nigel Martyn 138     372

6          Pepe Reina    134     285

7          Edwin van der Sar    134     314

8          Brad Friedel   132     450

9          Tim Howard   130     389

10        Peter Schmeichel      129     310

-By Sky Sports-