Arsene Wenger must bet on black against Barcelona

Arsenal can draw on a secret weapon as they aim to thwart Barcelona’s frightening three-prong attack at the Emirates tomorrow.

Petr Cech’s black shirt.

A study carried out by Bettingexpert claims black - as favoured by Cech for Arsenal’s home games - is the safest colour a Premier League goalkeeper can wear.

In games covered by the study, black-clad stoppers conceded, on average, just 0.77 goals per game. In sharp contrast, garish orange is the leakiest kit a keeper can wear at the moment, with a 1.33 concession average.

The traditional yellow goalkeeping kit is the second best performing (1.0 per game).

The study, run to coincide with London Fashion Week, studied matches played by London clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Crystal Palace, Watford and West Ham during the 2015/16 season.

Thomas Høgenhaven of Bettingexpert said: “They say that black never goes out of fashion and, with these figures out in the open, it shouldn’t fall out of favour with London’s Premier League goalkeepers any time soon.”

Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois has worn black just once this campaign - and duly kept a clean sheet.