"All great sides are built on clean sheets, all great sides. You can only deliver eight goals, like the Liverpool's of this world score, from a solid background. You can only deliver life from a solid background, nevermind football."
Those were the words of legendary football manager Brian Clough, who won the English top flight title with both Derby County and Nottingham Forest, when discussing the importance of defensive solidity in the beautiful game.
Goals may win football matches, but as Clough outlined, teams need "something concrete behind them to launch you into things", making shut-outs so important in the Premier League.
So far this season, Arsenal have been the league's best in terms of defensive strength, and are currently on a run of four consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League and eight combined across all competitions.
With newly-promoted yet high-flying Sunderland up next for Mikel Arteta's side, the Gunners are gunning to continue their consecutive clean sheet streak in the league alive, but are still some way off Manchester United's staggering record for successive top flight shut-outs.
Here, GIVEMESPORT runs through the ten longest clean sheet streaks in Premier League history.
10 Everton - 1994/95 season
Clean Sheet Streak: 7 games
A young Neville Southall in goal for Everton.
Everton finished 15th in the 1994/95 top flight campaign, just one spot above where David Moyes' side currently occupy, and would have likely been relegation candidates if not for an impressive seven-game run of shut-outs.
Under manager Mike Walker and his later successor Joe Royle, the Toffees kept seven clean sheets between November 1 and 17 December, a run which encapsulated victories over the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Leeds United.
With Everton having kept only two clean sheets in ten games so far this Premier League campaign, Moyes will want to rekindle some of that defensive structure for the remainder of the season to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle.
9 Southampton - 2000/01 season
Clean Sheet Streak: 7 games
Football manager Glenn Hoddle.
Tottenham Hotspur and England legend Glenn Hoddle was the manager of Southampton for the majority of the 2000/01 top flight campaign, in which he masterminded a seven-game clean sheet streak for the Saints immediately before his departure.
Between January 13 and March 17, Hoddle's Southampton kept seven consecutive shut-outs, with a 1-0 home win over Everton coming in what would prove to be the England legend's final game in charge of the South Coast outfit, who went on to finish 10th in the league after Stuart Gray replaced Hoddle in late March.
8 Middlesbrough - 2003/04 season
Clean Sheet Streak: 7 games
Steve McClaren coaching Manchester United
Former England manager and Man Utd Steve McClaren oversaw a seven-game consecutive clean sheet streak when he was in charge of Middlesbrough, during the opening months of the 2003/04 campaign.
Despite picking up just one point from the first 15 on offer, Boro's form picked up after a barren start, seeing McClaren's side fail to concede a goal between October 26 and December 13, with a 2-2 draw against Blackburn Rovers ending their streak.
Boro went on to finish 11th in the top flight table, but their season was far more memorable away from the league, with McClaren's men beating Bolton Wanderers 2-1 in the League Cup final to claim their first major trophy in their 149-year history.
7 Liverpool - 2019/20 season
Clean Sheet Streak: 7 games
Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool feature for the first of two occasions courtesy of their efforts under Jürgen Klopp during the Reds' commanding Premier League title-winning 2019/20 campaign.
The German's side scorched to the summit of the top flight, and were crowned champions with a 99-point tally, 18 ahead of runners-up Man City.
Klopp's 'heavy metal football' blew teams out of the water that season, but their attacking intent was matched by defensive solidity, with his team keeping seven consecutive clean sheets between December 7 and January 19.
6 Man Utd - 1996/97 & 1997/98 seasons
Clean Sheet Streak: 7 games
Manchester United's manager Sir Alex Ferguson at a game looking on
This is the first of two occasions that Sir Alex Ferguson's side feature on the list, but they are the only team to do so stretching across two seasons, being the end of their title-winning 1996/97 campaign and the following season.
Ferguson's Red Devils ended the 1996/97 season with a run of two clean sheets, and continued that rich vein of form into their title defence by keeping clean sheets in their opening five top flight matches of the 1997/98 campaign.
Unfortunately for Ferguson, his side missed out on the title to Arsenal by just one point in the 1997/98 season following a certain French manager's arrival, which coincidentally is next on the clean sheet streak list.
5 Arsenal - 1997/98 season
Clean Sheet Streak: 8 games
Martin Keown’s story about how Arsene Wenger was different to Sir Alex Ferguson before big games
Martin Keown’s story about how Arsene Wenger was different to Sir Alex Ferguson before big games
In Arsène Wenger's first full season in charge of Arsenal, the Frenchman's Gunners side won the top flight title for the first time in seven years, finishing just one point above Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United.
A run of three defeats in four outings ahead of the festive period left many feeling Arsenal were out of contention to become champions, but a phenomenal upturn in form at the turn of the year saw the Gunners catch 12 points worth of ground on the reigning champions.
Arsenal enjoyed an impressive ten-game winning streak towards the end of the season, which started with an eight-game clean sheet run between 31 January and 31 March, showing that Wenger's side had the defensive solidity to match their attractive style of play, and beat Man Utd to the title.
4 Liverpool - 2005/06 season
Clean Sheet Streak: 8 games
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez looks frustrated on the touchline.
Fresh off the back of their historic Champions League final comeback win over AC Milan, Rafael Benitez's Liverpool side finished third in the Premier League in 2005/06, nine points behind champions Chelsea, thanks to a monumental defensive run.
Following a surprising 2-0 defeat to Fulham, Liverpool went on an eight-game clean sheet streak between 29 October and Boxing Day, in a run which encompassed victories over the likes of Man City and Newcastle.
Although the Reds came out 3–1 victors, their clean sheet run was curtailed by their bitter Merseyside rivals Everton on December 28, which would pale in comparison to the bragging rights of a derby victory.
3 Chelsea - 2006/07 season
Clean Sheet Streak: 8 games
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho in a press conference
José Mourinho was enjoying his third season in his first term as Chelsea boss when his Blues side completed an eight-game run of clean sheets, between January 31 and April, with the final shut-out win coming in a 1-0 victory over London rivals Spurs.
However, despite their extremely solid defensive run, Mourinho's men lost out on the title to Man Utd following their failure to win at the Emirates in the final exchanges of the campaign.
Mourinho would depart Stamford Bridge the following September. Yet, unsurprisingly, given his sucesses at Chelsea, this run is not the only time the Blues feature on the longest clean sheet streaks.
2 Chelsea - 2004/05 season
Clean Sheet Streak: 10 games
New Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho in 2004.
Chelsea FC - Jose Mourinho Press Conference - Stamford Bridge - 2/6/04 New Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Alex Morton
In his opening press conference, Mourinho called himself "the special one" in the summer of 2004 after his arrival at Chelsea, and his word proved to be his bond come the end of his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge.
"Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm a European champion and I think I'm a special one."
The former Porto boss, who masterminded their momentous Champions League title win months before arriving in London, was special by name and special by nature after seeing his Chelsea side complete ten Premier League clean sheets in a row to propel the Blues to the title.
Chelsea's season was historic on many fronts, but their defensive structure was particularly outstanding, which helped Mourinho's Chelsea see out a staggering 25 clean sheets in the 2004/05 season, with ten of those coming consecutively between December 18 and February 12.
1 Man Utd - 2008/09 season
Clean Sheet Streak: 14 games
Edwin van der Sar
Unsurprisingly, Man Utd hold the longest clean sheet streak in Premier League history, courtesy of Edwin van der Sar's phenomenal exploits between the sticks during their Premier League title-winning 2008/09 campaign.
Under Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils kept an outrageous 14 consecutive clean sheets to propel them to a third Premier League title in a row, after managing not to concede a goal from November 15 and February 18.
During this period, van der Sar set a new record for the league by surpassing Steve Death's record of keeping a clean sheet in over 1,104 minutes of football, helping Man Utd to a stellar 3-0 win over title rivals Chelsea in the process.
Van der Sar and Man Utd's clean sheet streak was halted with a 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers, but Ferguson's side still went on to lift the Premier League trophy after finishing on 90 points, four ahead of runners-up Liverpool.
The Dutchman is considered one of the greatest goalkeepers to ever grace the Premier League, and his outstanding 14-game clean sheet streak remains the longest in top flight history, and is just one of two double-digit clean sheet streaks, alongside Chelsea's record.
Could Arsenal shot-stopper David Raya manage to equal, or even better, van der Sar and Man Utd's monumental feat this season?