Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes believes that Petr Cech is a great signing for Arsenal and compared the goalkeeper to a striker in terms of his importance for the Gunners.
Arsenal travel to Vicarage Road to face Watford on Saturday evening aiming to continue their solid start to life back in the Premier League having taken 10 points from eight games to lie in 12th spot in the table.
Gomes, who played for Arsenal's local rivals Tottenham between 2008-2014, feels the signing of Cech from Chelsea could prove vital for the opposition this season.
"I believe he is like a striker for them in that he will help them win many games," Gomes told ESPN FC. "He has the experience to help them; he knows how to win the competition [Premier League].
"He is one of the best in England and of course it was a great signing for Arsenal."
The Brazilian's words echo those of Cech's former Chelsea teammate John Terry, who said back in June that the Czech Republic international "will save [Arsenal] 12 to 15 points a season."
Gomes enjoyed many titanic battles with Arsenal during his time at White Hart Lane and boasts a good record against Arsene Wenger's men -- losing only one of five meetings -- but insists that the Hornets will need to be on their game to stop the in-form Alexis Sanchez.
"Of course it is always good to play against good teams and Arsenal I believe is one of the biggest in England," he said.
"During my time at Tottenham the rivalry was bigger than it is against Watford, but we still need to get points all the same.
"When you play a very good team it is important to look forward to it and it is great to be part of a game like this."
Gomes believes Arsenal are serious title contenders for this season's Premier League and he is in no doubt who will pose the biggest threat to Watford, with Sanchez having scored nine goals in his last four games for club and country.
"I think they have a strong squad, a squad that has played together for a long time," he added.
"They are title contenders and they can win the competition, although it's too early to say that even though they have a big possibility to win the title.
"They have great players. Sanchez is on fire at the moment and he is the one to watch at the moment, although I believe we need to be careful not just against him, but all the players.
"Arsenal can play good football; they play on the ground and counter-attack well. We will need to be alert all the time."
The 35-year-old has plenty of experience, but says he is still learning from his goalkeeping counterparts in the Premier League and feels the league is lucky to have so many top-class keepers.
"There are lots of top goalkeepers in the Premier League," he said. "Cech is one of them; Joe Hart is another one; Hugo Lloris is another one. Tim Krul is injured now, but he is a great goalkeeper and [Thibaut] Courtois at Chelsea and [David] De Gea from Manchester United. They are all great goalkeepers and I learn from them.
"In this league, there is a new thing you have to adapt to every day. You need to watch the best goalkeepers to become the best you can and you need to use your experience."
The Brazilian is one of the leaders in the cosmopolitan Watford dressing room, with 22 different nationalities represented in their squad, and he believes they can continue to confound the critics who tipped them to struggle in the Premier League this season after finishing second in the Championship last term.
"Most people expected us to be worse than we actually are, but I knew from the beginning that if we got promoted that we would not get relegated again," he added. "I know it is a very difficult league, but I believe we have started well with pretty much a new team from last season and hopefully we can keep this up.
"But we can do better than just avoid relegation. In this first season, many of the players have to get used to the league, but the way we are working and the way the people have set things up at the club our ambition is to do more than just stay up."