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LONDON. — Arsenal are sitting top of the English Premier League as we head into 2016 and the platform for their success has been a more assured defence this season.

The £11 million arrival of goalkeeper Petr Cech from rivals Chelsea in the summer has provided the much required steel in the Arsenal back line.

Cech, who notched up a new record 170th English Premier League clean sheet on Monday against Bournemouth, revealed a part of their defensive cohesion this campaign has been due to the Czech’s multi-lingual skills.

“I speak to the full-backs (Hector Bellerin, Nacho Monreal) in Spanish, to (Laurent) Koscielny in French and to Per (Mertesacker) in English because for him it is the same as me,” said Cech.

“Sometimes the foreign player wouldn’t know what you say. That’s when you realise sometimes it’s easier to say it in their language than hoping they will understand. It can happen.

“You have to be consistent in your work, consistent in your performances because if not then you might not have as many games as you would like, less games you play then less chances to have a clean sheet.”

The 33-year-old achieved his English Premier League clean sheet landmark in just 352 games as Arsene Wenger’s side eye a maiden title since 2004.

Looking ahead, Cech will hope to maintain another record when the Gunners face a daunting last 16 contest with La Liga giants Barcelona in the Champions League in February.

Barca talisman Lionel Messi has not scored against Cech in eight meetings so far, and the keeper added: “It’s great, not many people can say they’ve played eight games or how many minutes against Messi and he hasn’t found a way to get past me.

“But if he scores and we progress to the next round then it’s not really important. What’s important is for us to make sure that we give ourselves a chance to progress to the next round.” — Mailonline.