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Jamie Carragher criticises Petr Cech

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher was not pleased with the performance of goalkeeper Petr Cech during Arsenal's 3-1 Premier League defeat at Manchester City. The former Czech international produced a couple of top-notch saves to keep the scores at bay, but he was still criticised for the way he conceded the first goal of the game.

City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne opened the scoring with a left-footed strike from outside the box – which Cech could only get his fingertips to – but Carragher believes the 35-year-old should have done much better in goal. Cech earned the reputation of being one of the Premier League's greatest shot-stoppers during his time at Chelsea, but Carragher believes his reflexes have waned since his switch to north London, he said, "Petr Cech should save that. I think he is one of the great goalkeepers in the Premier League, but now he's just a good goalkeeper."

Surprisingly, Cech has a woeful record with penalty kicks having failed to save any of his 13 attempts with the Gunners. The veteran has produced some key performances including one in the Europa League, but he has had the tendency to make the odd mistake, which has cost his side valuable points.

Arsenal are reported to have already begun their search for a replacement with deputy David Ospina also tending to have flaws in his game. Real Madrid shot-stopper Keylor Navas has recently emerged as a transfer target for the north London club, and there is every possibility that the Costa Rican could leave the Bernabeu next summer amid Florentino Perez desire to bring in David de Gea from Manchester United.

The loss on Sunday sees the Gunners 12 points off table-toppers Manchester City, who are the only unbeaten side in this season's Premier League. Pep Guardiola's side have already earned comparisons with the Arsenal Invincibles of the 2003/04 season, although there is still a vast part of the campaign left to oversee a similar feat.

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