Clean sheet no. 169 and a matched Premier League record!

How does it feel to have matched the record?
Mostly I’m just ecstatic that we won and got to the head of the table. The clean sheet is somewhat of a cherry on top. We’d been waiting for a win for four League games, and now finally got one in.

What will you remember about the Aston Villa game?
We shot two quick goals and kept the game under control. Aston Villa got back on their feet in the second half, after all that was all they had left. They attacked more, became aggressive even, but we never let them have any particularly dangerous scoring opportunities.

At which point did it start to become clear that you would retain a clean slate?
At half-time. We were in a 2-0 lead and I thought ending the game at that would be very doable. We played very responsibly. You could notice in the last ten minutes that we were slowly running out of juice and some mistakes were made. I never stopped believing that we wouldn’t concede, though.

What was the first thing on your mind when you heard the final whistle?
I was obviously over the moon on two fronts: both because of the win and the clean sheet. When I first came to England I never even thought about achieving any sort of records. Now I’ve got 169 clean slates on my account. It’s mainly all of my past and present teammates I should thank to. It was partly also thanks to them that I’ve managed to get where I am now. I couldn’t have kept all of those clean sheets on my own.

How many congratulations did you receive?
Lots — over the phone as well as social networks. My teammates congratulated me right after the match, with our fans clapping in the background. That was nice.

Did you keep anything from the game as a souvenir?
Not at all. Once I’ve broken the record, I’ll keep the jersey.

That could possibly be in the next round in which you are to take on Manchester City.
It’d be nice to break the record at home, especially against such a strong team. But my motivations are the same for any game, really, no matter if it’s a friendly game, the Premier League or the Champions League. I always do my best to win and support my team will all I’ve got.

Are 169 clean sheets a reason for reflection and thinking about the future?
They are not. Not yet, at least. I’m hoping to add a couple on top of that. So far they’ve helped me acquire four trophies and I’m hoping to fight for a fifth one with Arsenal. That would be amazing. There’s still time for reflection.

How many of those clean slates can you actually remember in detail?
The first one, of course. It was my Chelsea debut. We beat Manchester United 1-0. Gudjohnsen scored quite early on and then we just defended the rest. As for the rest, you mostly just remember the milestones, for example the hundredth one. I started counting properly once I’d reached 150, realising that the record was now within my reach.

And how many more clean sheets are you expecting to retain?
That’ll depend on a lot of factors: my health, and my as well as my team’s performance. I’m on a four-year contract so let’s see how I’m doing in two years. With football you can’t really predict too far in advance.