Petr Cech has revealed he feared facing one former opponent more than any other player.
The former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper made 443 Premier League appearances during his career.
X / @primevideosportThe former Chelsea goalkeeper dubbed the forward a ‘nightmare’[/caption]
Across those matches, Cech kept 207 clean sheets, with no player scoring more than seven goals against him.
However, the one opponent who did tally seven strikes past the Czech stopper was a ‘nightmare’ to face, he has revealed.
Cech admitted that Wayne Rooney was ‘relentless’ in their 27 meetings between 2005 and 2017.
The 42-year-old told Amazon Prime: “Wayne Rooney was the one, like when we played United in the league, he was always the one.
“I was like ‘oh, come on, this is a nightmare’. Because he can chip you from the halfway line and he’s relentless, he’s everywhere.
“He keeps coming, he keeps pressing, and never gives you half a second. So it was always the preparation even from the goalkeeper coach.
“He always said: ‘You know we play Rooney, he can do anything’. I said, ‘yeah, unfortunately.’ I said, ‘I can’t cheat’ because he will see that.
“But there’s many ways you can play with people but generally, when you play against the top players, they will always find a way and it becomes challenging.
“This is what I loved about the Champions League or the Premier League because you play against the best players, and it brings the best out of you as well.”
Cech faced the former England captain for Chelsea, Arsenal and the Czech Republic, winning 11 times and losing 10.
Rooney scored 10 times against Cech overall, with seven of those coming in the league.
His tally of Premier League goals is the most scored against Cech of any player.
Meanwhile, Cech enjoyed a successful 11-year stay at Stamford Bridge after arriving in England.
The keeper won 15 trophies with the Blues including four league titles and the Champions League.
After joining Arsenal in 2015, he would go on to win another FA Cup as well as the Community Shield twice.
Cech ultimately retired with the Gunners in 2019 aged 37 after winning 124 caps for the Czech Republic.
