It makes sense that the most lonely position in football is frequently referred to as the No. 1.
Having said that, there is no game without a goalkeeper; their significance cannot be overstated.
Even in this role, there is a difference between a great shot-stopper and a very good one.
There have been a number of outstanding goalkeepers since the start of the Premier League. But who are the best goalkeepers in the Premier League?
We at Gistlegit have taken on the extremely challenging task of ranking the top ten goalkeepers In Premier League history.
Are you opposed to any of our choices? Please let us know via the comment box!
10. Pepe Reina
Club(s): Liverpool, Aston Villa
Premier League appearances: 297
Premier League clean sheets: 136
Premier League titles: 0
Pepe Reina’s 45.79% clean sheet average is truly remarkable.
The fact that he played under one of the best defensive managers around in Rafa Benitez, may have helped a little, but the Spanish shot-stopper himself did more than enough to contribute to that statistic.
Reina was one of the first Premier League goalkeepers to truly embrace playing with the ball at his feet. His agility enabled him to make some stunning saves, similar to how the Orca jumped to freedom in “Free Willy” in 1993.
Reina was much more unpredictable than the nine ‘keepers who came before him on this list because he had a tendency to have the occasional erratic moment. This was his only real flaw. He likewise followed off toward his time at Anfield, it should be said, was a shadow of his former self while getting back with Aston Manor for a short spell.
9. Ederson
Club(s): Man City
Premier League appearances: 217
Premier League clean sheets: 102
Premier League titles: 5
As the goal keeper of Manchester City, Ederson is a five-time Premier League champion. He is the only player in the league to have kept over 100 clean sheets, making him the third fastest to reach that mark after two men further up this list (but we won’t spoil that). The Brazilian is the exemplification of the cutting edge goalkeeper, beginning Man City’s assaults and he has three aids the Chief Association.
The fact that Ederson has been known to wander in games, costing his team a few clean sheets, is the only thing holding him back from moving up this list.
8. Alisson
Club(s): Liverpool
Premier League appearances: 173
Premier League clean sheets: 78
Premier League titles: 1
Despite his skill, Alisson made it into the history books of the Premier League in May 2021 when he became one of only six goalkeepers to score a goal in the league. He scored a late winner for Liverpool against West Brom to help them finish in the top four. Be that as it may, fortunately for Liverpool, he’s likewise very great at the goalkeeping.
Toward the end of the 2022/23 season, Alisson’s fifth in the Premier League, the Brazilian has kept 78 clean sheets and struggled close by Ederson to be the most incredible in the division. While Ederson has a higher rate of clean sheets, Alisson has contributed significantly more to Liverpool’s defense and helped them become Premier League champions in 2019/20. He also feels at ease with the ball at his feet, which is an increasingly important skill in today’s game.
The inquiry is, how much higher might Alisson at any point climb this rundown?
7. Jens Lehmann
Club(s): Arsenal
Premier League appearances: 148
Premier League clean sheets: 54
Premier League titles: 1
We should not avoid the real issue; Jens Lehmann was utterly insane. He was making incredible saves to keep Arsenal in the game one minute and throwing water at an official in the Highbury tunnel the next.
Be that as it may, Lehmann played each of the 38 games in Arsenal’s invincible title-winning season in 2003/04, keeping 21 clean sheets all the while. The former Germany international commanded his box like no other goalkeeper and was able to intimidate opposition strikers into making completely uncharacteristic errors in front of goal when at his best.
He falls a little off this list due to his erratic behavior. But let’s be honest: without it, he wouldn’t be the Lehmann we all know, love, or hate.
6. Joe Hart
Club(s): Man City, Birmingham (loan), West Ham (loan), Burnley
Premier League appearances: 340
Premier League clean sheets: 127
Premier League titles: 2
Despite the fact that Joe Hart has experienced a slump similar to that of Wall Street in recent years, it would be foolish to forget how good he was when he was at his best.
Upwards of 109 of Hart’s 127 Premier League clean sheets came during his prize loaded time with Manchester City, helping the club to two League titles among those distinctions.
On his day, Hart was agile, vocal, and capable of stopping an Exocet missile, and he kind of is still; Over the course of his career, the only thing that has let him down has been that cursed left side. However, in his final season in the Premier League, Hart stopped 77 shots for Burnley, one more than Alisson did for Liverpool.
5. David de Gea
Club(s): Manchester United
Premier League appearances: 415
Premier League clean sheets: 147
Premier League titles: 1
When David de Gea first entered Old Trafford in 2011, few could have foreseen how good he would become. He was a spindly, fragile figure.
However, the Spaniard quickly began to disprove his doubters, and by 2013, he was a Premier League champion, despite some shaky early performances.
The Spaniard, 32, has kept almost 150 clean sheets in the English Premier League so far, and just when you think he’s getting weaker, he comes up big to win Man Utd points. De Gea won the Golden Glove in 2022/23 despite not being at his best. He kept 17 clean sheets, more than any other goalkeeper.
4. Edwin van der Sar
Club(s): Fulham, Manchester United
Premier League appearances: 313
Premier League clean sheets: 132
Premier League titles: 4
Edwin van der Sar arrived at Fulham in 2001, he set about regaining his reputation as one of Europe’s most consistent goalkeepers after struggling for form during a two-year stay with Juventus. His 127 appearances for the Cottagers did exactly that, as well as helping the Londoners with broadening their stay in the Premier League far longer than many anticipated. Additionally, it eventually brought Manchester United back to the top.
The flying Dutchman was frequently referred to as the “first world-class Man United goalkeeper since Peter Schmeichel” during his time there, where he helped the Red Devils reestablish their dominance in the Premier League by winning the title four times.
That assertion is hard to refute with a clean sheet average of 42.17 percent.
3. David Seaman
Club(s): Arsenal, Manchester City
Premier League appearances: 344
Premier League clean sheets: 140
Premier League titles: 2
David Seaman was a rock of consistency in front of an impenetrable Arsenal defense. He was an incredible goalkeeper on the field and an absolute gentleman off it.
Sailor helped the Arsenal to win two Premier League titles during his time between the sticks at Highbury and keeping in mind that he wasn’t awesome with the ball at his feet, similar to the case for ‘keepers at that point, his shot-stopping capacities knew basically no limits.
Seaman’s calm demeanor behind the Arsenal back four was also restored when Petr Cech moved from Chelsea to north London.
2. Petr Cech
Club(s): Chelsea, Arsenal
Premier League appearances: 443
Premier League clean sheets: 202
Premier League titles: 4
Petr Cech has kept more clean sheets in the Premier League than anyone else (202) and has made more saves than Ben Foster (1,102), but he also helped Chelsea win four titles between 2004 and 2015.
During his first season with the Blues in 2004/05, Cech was arguably at his best. He set a record for the most consecutive seasons with 24 clean sheets and went 10 games without letting in a goal.
His longevity, on the other hand, is tremendously impressive, with 443 appearances in the English top flight under his belt. Iker Casillas referred to Cech as “one of the best goalkeepers he has ever seen,” which is understandable.
Honourable mentions:
Before we present to you our number one, here are some honorable mentions that couldn’t be left out totally: David James, Neville Southall, Paul Robinson, Hugo Lloris, Brad Friedel, Carlo Cudicini, Tim Howard, Jussi Jaaskelainen, Mark Schwarzer, Nigel Martyn, Thomas Sorensen, Thibaut Courtois, Shay Given.
1. Peter Schmeichel
Club(s): Manchester United, Aston Villa, Manchester City
Premier League appearances: 310
Premier League clean sheets: 128
Premier League titles: 5
An absolute giant. To find someone who doesn’t think Peter Schmeichel is the best goalkeeper in Premier League history, you’d have to go quite a ways.
Although Schmeichel was one of the biggest advocates of the rule change and the way it revolutionized the game, the introduction of the back-pass rule may have revealed a small flaw when the ball was at Schmeichel’s feet. What’s more, thus, with his brand name starfish save, Schmeichel had the same impact on the art of goalkeeping, making it a genuinely specific position.
The 6-foot-3-inch goalkeeper was an integral part of five of Sir Alex Ferguson’s teams that won Premier League titles, including the 1999 treble, and his overarm sling led Manchester United to numerous counterattacks that resulted in goals. As if that weren’t enough, Schmeichel became the first Premier League goalkeeper to score in a game against Everton in 2001, when Aston Villa lost 3-2.
