Petr Cech believes that former club Chelsea are still the favourites to win the Premier League, despite the club picking up just eight points from their first eight matches of the season.

Cech left the Blues after 10 years at Stamford Bridge in the summer to join rivals Arsenal, where he has been excellent so far, keeping four clean sheets for Arsene Wenger's team.

The Arsenal No 1, who won three Premier League titles and the Champions League in west London, admits he is surprised by the poor start Chelsea have endured to the season.

Former manager Jose Mourinho appealed to the Chelsea hierarchy to keep him at the club after defeat to Southampton, with a statement latter issued stating that he was safe - but results had to improve.

Arsenal's best and worst players in September Show all 6 1 /6 Arsenal's best and worst players in September Arsenal's best and worst players in September GOOD: Alexis Sanchez Wenger admitted he was concerned about the form of Sanchez, fearing he may have brought the forward back into the fold too quickly following his exploits with Chile in the Copa America over the summer. However, a brilliant hat-trick against Leicester put such talk to bed and was one of the stand-out moments of September for Arsenal. GETTY IMAGES Arsenal's best and worst players in September GOOD: Theo Walcott Goals in four of the six games is a decent return from the England international and has reaffirmed Arsene Wenger's trust that he can play as the central striker. However, there's room for improvement from Walcott, with numerous decent chances going begging across the month. GETTY IMAGES Arsenal's best and worst players in September GOOD: Mathieu Flamini He only played two games during the month (and one of those was for just 21 minutes before he was taken off) but his contribution when he played the full 90 will live long in the memory of Arsenal fans. The French spoiler scored two goals against Tottenham in the Capital One Cup to earn his side victory, with the second an absolute peach of a finish. Arsenal's best and worst players in September BAD: David Ospina Wenger has persisted with his policy of using his back-up goalkeeper for cup matches this season. Considering Petr Cech's arrival was hailed as providing this Arsenal side with experience and know-how in the biggest games, it was perhaps a strange decision on the part of the Arsenal manager. Whilst Ospina played in the win over Spurs, when it came to the Champions League he played two, lost two and conceded five goals. His howler in the 3-2 defeat to Olympiakos could be the defining moment should Arsenal fail to progress from the group stage. GETTY IMAGES Arsenal's best and worst players in September BAD: Olivier Giroud Scored half the number of goals of Walcott, but most notably, was shown a red card in the Champions League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb. It came from two completely unnecessary bookings inside 40 minutes of the match and contributed to his team's loss. His subsequent suspension also meant Wenger was unable to call on the French striker when in need of a goal against Olympiakos. GETTY IMAGES Arsenal's best and worst players in September BAD: Aaron Ramsey Whilst Gabriel's stupidity in reacting to Diego Costa and getting sent off against Chelsea made him a contender to be among the worst Arsenal players of the month, Aaron Ramsey beats him to it for his lack of influence in midfield. Having started four of the Gunners' six games and come on a sub in another, the Welshman failed to provide a single goal or assist. Needs to be doing more. GETTY IMAGES

"Their form surprises me because Chelsea are among the best in the Premier League," Cech told iDNES.

"I am no longer there, so it is hard for me to evaluate what is going on. Anyway, the season is long and Chelsea are still favourites in my eyes."

Cech is happy with his form at his new club and believes the Gunners are in prime position to challenge for the title.

"After the first defeat for us against West Ham, everyone said that we can never win anything big. Now we are again being compared to the most famous Arsenal, who didn't lose during one season," he added.

"I just know that we have a team that can fight for the title until last round."

The 33-year-old also commented on Wenger's decision to play David Ospina over him in the Champions League - a move that has spectacularly backfired with Arsenal losing both of their matches in the competition so far.