Theo Walcott has revealed Petr Cech gave his Arsenal team-mates a dressing room rallying cry after yesterday’s 0-0 draw at Stoke.

The Gunners missed the chance to open up a clear lead at the top of the Premier League after a stalemate at the Britannia Stadium but still returned to the summit above Leicester City on goal difference, with Manchester City a point further back in third.

Both Cech and Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland made key saves throughout the contest and Walcott revealed afterwards that Arsenal’s No1 told his team-mates to focus on the positives of avoiding defeat at a ground where Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea all lost this season.

“The mental strength in our dressing room is the strongest it has ever been,” Walcott told Standard Sport. “When you have the likes of Petr Cech coming in as well, he only enhances that. He has lifted everybody’s heads up, saying this is a very good point and that nobody tends to win here.

“We just have to look at him because he has been at the top level and won many things so if we have the belief that he has got, we can push on.

“It is always difficult looking back at games but we dropped two points at Liverpool and we felt it was going to be a tough match here. All the big teams that have come here have struggled with Stoke getting positive results. There were mixed emotions in the dressing room, I’m not going to lie, but it is probably a fair result.

Player Ratings: Stoke City vs Arsenal 23 show all Player Ratings: Stoke City vs Arsenal 1/23 Jack Butland: 8 Another game in which he made his case to be a major contender for the England No.1 jersey. His save from Giroud in the first half showcased remarkable anticipation and pace off the line, keeping Stoke in the game. 2/23 Glenn Johnson: 7 Walcott was forced to move ever further infield in the hopes of space to influence the game so solid was Johnson. This was not the swashbuckling full-back of old, but it was the sort of display Mark Hughes would have wanted. 2015 Getty Images 3/23 Ryan Shawcross: 6 When Arsenal sent a cross into the area Shawcross was nigh-on certain to get his head on it. Loses one mark because on the one occasion he didn’t Giroud would have scored were it not for the supreme form of Butland. 4/23 Philipp Wollscheid: 6 Proof that Stoke’s physical approach to playing against Arsenal won’t die came as early as the first minute, when he simply pushed Walcott over to stop him getting to the ball. It was typical of the centre-half’s ‘industrious’ performance, but it got the job done. 2015 Getty Images 5/23 Erik Pieters: 6 Rather struggled to tame Bellerin and Campbell in the early stages, but grew ever more steady as the contest progressed. 2015 Getty Images 6/23 Glenn Whelan: 6 A neat, composed display in protecting the defence. That his display was so rarely worthy of comment is more to his credit than suggesting any deficiencies in his performance. 7/23 Ibrahim Afellay: 7 Made Stoke tick from deep, rarely putting a pass anywhere but exactly where a team-mate wanted it. He launched several counters by picking the right pass and on another day could have taken credit for a goal. 2016 Getty Images 8/23 Jonathan Walters: 5 One wouldn’t expect him to replicate the displays of Xherdan Shaqiri, but perhaps he could at least put his passes in the right place. Too often though, that seemed beyond him as counter-attacks fell apart due to a loose pass. 2015 Getty Images 9/23 Bojan: 5 Stoke’s own Ozil has been off the boil in recent weeks and didn’t do much to change that today. A few brief moments in the early moments of the second half suggested he might craft a game-changing chance but it was little surprise he was the first man to be substituted.



Biram Diouf: 5



More of a defensive force than an attacking one from the bench, he tracked back diligently to ensure Bellerin always had someone to pressurise him. 2016 Getty Images 10/23 Marko Arnautovic: 7 So full of delicate, dangerous touches that befuddled Arsenal’s midfielders and defenders, he looked the most likely to find the net for Stoke. He put Bellerin under considerable pressure throughout an energetic display. 2016 Getty Images 11/23 Joselu: 6 Did his best to stretch Arsenal’s centre-backs out wide but too often was out of position if Stoke looked to launch balls into the box. 12/23 Petr Cech: 8 A quiet first half but when Joselu and Bojan called on him for a superb double save he was not found wanting. A flurry of threats from Stoke. 13/23 Hector Bellerin: 7 His tussle with Arnautovic was one of the highlights of the game, and more often than not it was the Spaniard who was to come out on top. As Stoke sent ever more men back to defend he kept earning Arsenal set-pieces. 14/23 Per Mertesacker: 6 Something of a quiet day for the captain, though on the ball the ball he radiated the calm authority so crucial in the bear-pit that was the Britannia. 2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc 15/23 Laurent Koscielny: 7 Swept up well when Stoke slipped balls behind the Arsenal backline and showed remarkable anticipation to steal the ball on a number of occasions. 2016 Liverpool FC 16/23 Nacho Monreal: 8 As ever there was nothing for Wenger to find fault in defensively from Monreal, who kept Walters on a very short leash. When Bojan drifted wide to create he also wasn’t found wanting. 2016 Getty Images 17/23 Mathieu Flamini: 6 At last those positional failings of Flamini seemed to be resolved, with the tough-tackling midfielder doing good work as an anchor in front of Arsenal’s defence. There are times when he can go missing, this was not one of them. 18/23 Aaron Ramsey: 5 This was Ramsey’s big chance to prove himself the equal of Ozil, Cazorla and company. The midfield was set up to exploit his strengths. Yet he didn’t really live up to expectations; there was the odd neat pass but never in a position where it mattered. 19/23 Joel Campbell: 7 Of course the determination and willingness to track back that have been typical of Campbell in recent months were there. But in the absence of Ozil (and a host of other key names) he stepped up to the responsibility of being a creator. 2016 Getty Images 20/23 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 5 Arsene Wenger suggested earlier this week that Oxlade-Chamberlain’s long-term future could be in central midfield. There were flashes to suggest he might be right, with the 22-year-old attacking with verve. But he cannot afford to be so blasé with possession against opposition with so many capable attackers. 2016 Getty Images 21/23 Theo Walcott: 6 As ever Walcott was on the peripheries of the game, waiting for his moment to strike. He gave Wollscheid in particular plenty to worry about but often when tasked with running at Stoke’s defence, rather than behind it, he lost possession. 2016 Getty Images 22/23 Olivier Giroud: 5 That delicate touch that has made him such a useful target man was all too often nowhere to be found for Giroud. The fact that he came up against a goalkeeper on top form was probably all that stopped him getting on the scoresheet but this was still not vintage Giroud. 2016 The Arsenal Football Club Plc 23/23 Alex Iwobi: 6 The paucity of Wenger’s attacking options on the bench forced him to take on the role of game-changer from the bench. There were a few neat turns and touches, but it would be unfair to expect more from him. 1/23 Jack Butland: 8 Another game in which he made his case to be a major contender for the England No.1 jersey. His save from Giroud in the first half showcased remarkable anticipation and pace off the line, keeping Stoke in the game. 2/23 Glenn Johnson: 7 Walcott was forced to move ever further infield in the hopes of space to influence the game so solid was Johnson. This was not the swashbuckling full-back of old, but it was the sort of display Mark Hughes would have wanted. 2015 Getty Images 3/23 Ryan Shawcross: 6 When Arsenal sent a cross into the area Shawcross was nigh-on certain to get his head on it. Loses one mark because on the one occasion he didn’t Giroud would have scored were it not for the supreme form of Butland. 4/23 Philipp Wollscheid: 6 Proof that Stoke’s physical approach to playing against Arsenal won’t die came as early as the first minute, when he simply pushed Walcott over to stop him getting to the ball. It was typical of the centre-half’s ‘industrious’ performance, but it got the job done. 2015 Getty Images 5/23 Erik Pieters: 6 Rather struggled to tame Bellerin and Campbell in the early stages, but grew ever more steady as the contest progressed. 2015 Getty Images 6/23 Glenn Whelan: 6 A neat, composed display in protecting the defence. That his display was so rarely worthy of comment is more to his credit than suggesting any deficiencies in his performance. 7/23 Ibrahim Afellay: 7 Made Stoke tick from deep, rarely putting a pass anywhere but exactly where a team-mate wanted it. He launched several counters by picking the right pass and on another day could have taken credit for a goal. 2016 Getty Images 8/23 Jonathan Walters: 5 One wouldn’t expect him to replicate the displays of Xherdan Shaqiri, but perhaps he could at least put his passes in the right place. Too often though, that seemed beyond him as counter-attacks fell apart due to a loose pass. 2015 Getty Images 9/23 Bojan: 5 Stoke’s own Ozil has been off the boil in recent weeks and didn’t do much to change that today. A few brief moments in the early moments of the second half suggested he might craft a game-changing chance but it was little surprise he was the first man to be substituted.



Biram Diouf: 5



More of a defensive force than an attacking one from the bench, he tracked back diligently to ensure Bellerin always had someone to pressurise him. 2016 Getty Images 10/23 Marko Arnautovic: 7 So full of delicate, dangerous touches that befuddled Arsenal’s midfielders and defenders, he looked the most likely to find the net for Stoke. He put Bellerin under considerable pressure throughout an energetic display. 2016 Getty Images 11/23 Joselu: 6 Did his best to stretch Arsenal’s centre-backs out wide but too often was out of position if Stoke looked to launch balls into the box. 12/23 Petr Cech: 8 A quiet first half but when Joselu and Bojan called on him for a superb double save he was not found wanting. A flurry of threats from Stoke. 13/23 Hector Bellerin: 7 His tussle with Arnautovic was one of the highlights of the game, and more often than not it was the Spaniard who was to come out on top. As Stoke sent ever more men back to defend he kept earning Arsenal set-pieces. 14/23 Per Mertesacker: 6 Something of a quiet day for the captain, though on the ball the ball he radiated the calm authority so crucial in the bear-pit that was the Britannia. 2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc 15/23 Laurent Koscielny: 7 Swept up well when Stoke slipped balls behind the Arsenal backline and showed remarkable anticipation to steal the ball on a number of occasions. 2016 Liverpool FC 16/23 Nacho Monreal: 8 As ever there was nothing for Wenger to find fault in defensively from Monreal, who kept Walters on a very short leash. When Bojan drifted wide to create he also wasn’t found wanting. 2016 Getty Images 17/23 Mathieu Flamini: 6 At last those positional failings of Flamini seemed to be resolved, with the tough-tackling midfielder doing good work as an anchor in front of Arsenal’s defence. There are times when he can go missing, this was not one of them. 18/23 Aaron Ramsey: 5 This was Ramsey’s big chance to prove himself the equal of Ozil, Cazorla and company. The midfield was set up to exploit his strengths. Yet he didn’t really live up to expectations; there was the odd neat pass but never in a position where it mattered. 19/23 Joel Campbell: 7 Of course the determination and willingness to track back that have been typical of Campbell in recent months were there. But in the absence of Ozil (and a host of other key names) he stepped up to the responsibility of being a creator. 2016 Getty Images 20/23 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 5 Arsene Wenger suggested earlier this week that Oxlade-Chamberlain’s long-term future could be in central midfield. There were flashes to suggest he might be right, with the 22-year-old attacking with verve. But he cannot afford to be so blasé with possession against opposition with so many capable attackers. 2016 Getty Images 21/23 Theo Walcott: 6 As ever Walcott was on the peripheries of the game, waiting for his moment to strike. He gave Wollscheid in particular plenty to worry about but often when tasked with running at Stoke’s defence, rather than behind it, he lost possession. 2016 Getty Images 22/23 Olivier Giroud: 5 That delicate touch that has made him such a useful target man was all too often nowhere to be found for Giroud. The fact that he came up against a goalkeeper on top form was probably all that stopped him getting on the scoresheet but this was still not vintage Giroud. 2016 The Arsenal Football Club Plc 23/23 Alex Iwobi: 6 The paucity of Wenger’s attacking options on the bench forced him to take on the role of game-changer from the bench. There were a few neat turns and touches, but it would be unfair to expect more from him.

“We felt from the start we were up for the fight, physically. We tried to unease them and did that. It’s a shame that we couldn’t get the result we desperately wanted but it is an improvement from previous performances here and we have got to be proud of that point.”

After Manchester United’s 1-0 victory at Liverpool, just seven points separate the top five teams and Walcott believes this season’s title race will be the most exhilarating yet.

“It shows how difficult the Premier League is this year,” he said. “You can’t tell what any result is going to be beforehand.

“It is probably going to be the most exciting Premier League ever for the neutral because of the amount of teams who could potentially win it. Nobody can call it at the moment but we are top of the League now and we can be proud of that.”