FINDING THE RIGHT GOALKEEPER is a conundrum that a global search and a big wallet will not always solve — just ask Messrs Ferguson and Wenger. While their rivals continue to be haunted by the ghosts of Schmeichel and Seaman, Chelsea might feel entitled to a little smugness. For the ease and speed with which Petr Cech, at 22 a mere stripling in goalkeeping years, has assumed control of the penalty box is nothing less than startling.

Despite a blip this weekend, when he conceded more than once for the first time and was certainly at fault for Bolton Wanderers’ first goal, the young Czech remains the Premiership’s most consistent custodian. “So far so good,” he said with just a touch of understatement. “When I signed from Rennes, I think there were some people who thought I was just coming to bolster the numbers and that I’d be third-choice keeper. The thing with English fans is that they don’t really look at other competitions, so they didn’t care about how I did at Sparta (Prague) or Rennes. All that matters is what they see for themselves.

“I felt under big pressure at first, especially making my debut against Manchester United. Keeping a clean sheet in that game was vital for my confidence.”

It is a feat that Cech, ever-present in the Premiership and Champions League, has repeated in all but six of the 17 subsequent games. “It’s true there have been a lot of clean sheets. That’s always impressive. But that’s not the main goal for me, never has been,” he said. Perhaps not, but it has been a consistent by-product. In his maiden season with Sparta in 2001, he set a Czech record by going 928 minutes unbeaten.

“I’m not bothered by records,” he said. “I just want to play my best and keep my place in the starting XI.” He is also quick to spread the credit to a back four that is threatening to steal not just Arsenal’s crown, but their old 1-0 trademark.

“Chelsea have the best defence in the Premiership,” he said. “In some ways that’s quite surprising as we’ve rotated players at the back quite a bit, and all of our defenders like to get forward. When you look at the players we’ve got, you’d expect us to be winning 5-3. But the secret with this team is that everyone works hard to help the defence.”

Arjen Robben believes that Cech is on his way to becoming the best goalkeeper in the world. “He said that?” Cech said, surprised. “I’ll take the compliment, but I still have a lot of things to improve. One thing that’s getting better is my concentration. When the opposition has so few chances, you need to be on your toes waiting for a shot at any time. That can be quite tough. At Fulham, for example, I barely touched the ball.”

As he found against Bolton, it isn’t always such a stroll, and he can expect to be busier still when Chelsea go to Highbury next month. But with the champions faltering, he views that game as the ideal chance to crank up the heat. “It’s too early to say we’re going to win the league,” he said. “But with Arsenal in second place now, they have to respect us. We’re enjoying a good run and we need to keep it going.

“I still get the feeling we’re not regarded as hot favourites for the title — we’re still outsiders, and we like being in that position. But we want to be on top of the table when we go to Arsenal, so that they feel some added pressure.

“The way things have gone for me at Chelsea have exceeded my expectations. On top of the league, hardly conceding goals, and I’ve been nominated in the top 50 European players for the Golden Ball. But I know that things can change, and I’ll never drop my guard.” For Carlo Cudicini, the former Chelsea No 1, and for strikers across the Barclays Premiership, that is a fairly bleak prospect.