Cech retires from Czech Republic duty

Petr Cech has walked away from international duty with Czech Republic, leaving his playing commitments solely with Arsenal.

The goalkeeper won his 121st cap, an all-time high for his country, in its clash with Turkey on June 21. That unfortunately marked the end of its Euro 2016 campaign, tallying just one point through three matches in Group D.

"When I was a kid, my ultimate dream was to play for the national team at least once. Having done it so many times makes me really proud," Cech told the Arsenal website.

"You look back at the Czech and Czechoslovakian history and you see so many great names and players. I managed to play more games than them, which shows the consistency and quality of my game."

The news is likely to be welcomed by the Gunners support, seeing that stepping away from international football will give the 34-year-old more time to recover between matches.

The shot stopper joined Arsenal last summer for £10 million after 11 years at Chelsea. He'll be expected to resume his role between the sticks for the north London club's 2016-17 Premier League opener against Liverpool on Aug. 14.