Peter Henry
Arsenal manager Unai Emery has admitted that he still hasn’t decided whether to pick Bernd Leno or Petr Cech as his goalkeeper for today’s Premier League clash against Crystal Palace.
Leno joined Arsenal in a £22 million deal from Bayer Leverkusen this summer, with many seeing his arrival at the Emirates as signalling the end of 36-year-old Cech’s time as Gunners number one.
However, Emery began the season with the former Chelsea ‘keeper as his first-choice despite his struggles with playing the ball out from the back as the Spanish coach demands.
Leno did finally get a run in the Premier League when Cech suffered a hamstring injury against Watford last month and has impressed since taking his place between the sticks.
Veteran ‘keeper Cech has now regained full fitness and Emery has admitted that he is still to decide who will now be his first-choice.
“For Sunday Petr Cech is okay and we must decide whether to play him in the first XI or not,” Emery told his pre-match press conference.
“We have very big confidence in all the goalkeepers and I am happy with the way they work with the coaches.
“It’s a big decision but it’s also a positive one because they are both (capable of) a good performance.
“Now we are very happy with Leno and before Petr Cech had the injury he was also giving very good performances.”
Arsenal will be aiming to make it 12 wins in a row when they travel to Selhurst Park to face Roy Hodgson’s Palace side this afternoon.