Petr Cech has always been something of a trailblazer, having left Sparta Prague and the Czech Republic in 2002 ahead of spells in Ligue 1 and the Premier League.
The legendary goalkeeper knows the importance of showing others the way and, ahead of our pre-season tour to Sydney, he was keen to underline the impact of Australian footballers in England.
"We played against Tim Cahill when he was at Everton and I think it’s an interesting one because you are miles away [from home],” Cech told Arsenal Player.
"Australia is very far and Mark Schwarzer was going 20 years to play with the national team so you can imagine you go all the way, just before the game you played in the Premier League. It’s not easy but I think it just shows how committed they were to the national team, going back and forth
"Once they have success it obviously opens the door for everybody and I thought Mark, having played so many games at Middlesbrough and then Fulham, left a huge mark on the Premier League.
“Then with [Mile] Jedinak, Cahill, when you have players like this coming in and doing really well it obviously opens gates and opens the doors for the other players as well. If they qualify for big tournaments and then the players do well, they can end up in the Premier League or Bundesliga or the European top leagues."
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