Every Premier League Goalkeeper in 2019/20 - Ranked by Save Percentage
Being a Premier League goalkeeper can be pretty difficult.
Not only are you isolated and on your own for the majority of any given game, every single action that you perform - making a save, coming for a cross, your distribution of the ball - is put under the most intense microscope imaginable.
Pressure can get to the even the biggest name goalkeepers - just ask Manchester United's David de Gea for confirmation of that - but it can also bring out the very best in them. What better way to be tested than to have shots raining down on your goal, keeping your mind focused and your reflexes sharp?
It begs the question though, for all the great chat we have about 'who the best' goalkeeper is, who actually are the ones to stand up and deliver the most? Well, with a little bit of help from stats gurus FBREF, 90min is here to tell you which Premier League goalkeeper did the one thing that they are paid to do most often during the 2019/20 season - stopping that round thing going into the big net thing.
Let's dig in.
*Minimum 5 Premier League games to be played in order to qualify.
28. Ørjan Nyland
Save Percentage: 53.8%
Remember when Aston Villa played Sheffield United in the first game post-lockdown and Nyland fell into his own goal and got away with it?
Funny, wasn't it.
Apart from it wasn't for Bournemouth, because HawkEye's monumental cock-up meant they were relegated*. It also counted as a save, but still didn't stop Nyland from being literally the worst in the Premier League in terms of % shots saved.
*No other factors played apart in their demise, obviously.
27. Kepa Arrizabalaga
Save Percentage: 54.5%
Some people think Kepa is being harshly treated at Chelsea by Frank Lampard. The stats, however, suggest he's not very good at stopping the ball.
Andre Onana, anyone?
26. Willy Caballero
Save Percentage: 56.3%
Never mind Andre Onana, Chelsea have got Willy Caballero.
And OH MY GOD, he really can't stop the ball either! Yup, time to go goalkeeper shopping Frank.
25. Angus Gunn
Save Percentage: 56.6%
It was a fun time for everyone when Southampton - in front of actual fans - were pumped 9-0 by Leicester at St Mary's last year.
Not only was the Saints' home ground turned into an actual lake on the night, it was also the last time anybody has set eyes on poor Angus Gunn.
Still, at least his dad had cracking hair back in the day.
24. Jordan Pickford
Save Percentage: 63.4%
Ranking 23rd out of an eligible 28 goalkeepers really isn't the kind of thing you want to see from England's number one goalkeeper.
Unless you're Scott Saunders and Jack Gallagher of 90min that is, who no doubt will find this is absolutely hilarious.
23. Pepe Reina
Save Percentage: 64%
It's a real shame to think that Reina, who has played for some of the biggest clubs in the world, will be remembered this season for a TikTok during lockdown where he pretended to be an egg.
Still, rather that than remembering that Dean Smith dropped him in favour of the aforementioned disaster man known as Nyland.
22. Adrián
Save Percentage: 64.3%
It seems so long ago that Alisson was ruled out of action through injury, thrusting West Ham cult hero Adrián into the limelight.
In hindsight, he didn't do a bad job. And by that, we mean Liverpool kept scoring goals to win, not because he was really good at stopping the ball.
21. Tim Krul
Save Percentage: 65.6%
If there's one thing I love, it's symmetry - so what's about to follow really has warmed my heart.
- Tim Krul ranks 21st in terms of Premier League save percentage this season.
- Tim Krul's Norwich actually finished 21st in the Premier League because they really were that bad.
- Tim Krul saved roughly 21 penalties for the Netherlands during the 2014 World Cup.
Fantastisch!
20. Ben Foster
Save Percentage: 66.3%
Ben Foster made the day of about 20 mascots this season by being the nicest bloody bloke in the world, but sadly that kindness didn't transfer into bloody nice performances.
Not only does he only rank 20th in save percentage times, he's also facing up to life in the Championship.
Not ideal.
19. Rui Patricio
Save Percentage: 67.5%
Poor old Wolves. They had the most wonderful season under Nuno Espirito Santo, but Arsenal's FA Cup winning greediness may now cost them a place in Europe.
Still, they could always go and win this season's Europa League - as long as Patricio ups his game a little.
18. Tom Heaton
Save Percentage: 67.7%
Most of you will have forgotten that Aston Villa actually had a third goalkeeper this season who played the majority of their games before injury stuck.
Tom Heaton is the man you've forgotten about, and he's actually the best of the bunch for Villa. Get well soon, chum.
17. Aaron Ramsdale
Save Percentage: 67.8%
Five years of living the Premier League dream was enough for Bournemouth, who will now take up residency in the Championship.
In all honesty, the Cherries' defence was very bad at times. But one person who wasn't very bad was Aaron Ramsdale. He was actually quite good.
Nice job, buddy.
16. Mat Ryan
Save Percentage: 68.3%
Not only did Mat Ryan play every single game of Brighton's Premier League season, his first name only contains one t.
Just in case you're in any doubt, it's definitely his name that helped him repel 114 efforts at his goal this season and nothing to do with the fact that he's a really good shot-stopper.
15. Lukasz Fabianski
Save Percentage: 68.4%
For a long, long time, I've been singing the praises of Lukasz Fabianski and claiming he's one of the top five goalkeepers in the Premier League.
So, inevitably, he actually made a few errors after returning from injury and is only the 15th best keeper if you go by the statistics. Like I said, top five Premier League material.
14. Roberto
Save Percentage: 68.6%
Wait, you're telling me that renowned clown Roberto actually had a better track record between the sticks than Fabianski?
No wonder the board eventually binned off Manuel Pellegrini!
13. Alex McCarthy
Save Percentage: 69.1%
A place just outside the top ten is pretty smart work for Alex McCarthy, but I'm really struggling to get his recent howler against Arsenal out of my mind.
That mistake wasn't just bad, it was absolutely abysmal. Good job he was pretty on it the rest of the time, then.
12. Martin Dúbravka
Save Percentage: 70.5%
Life at St James' Park has returned to normal after the 457th attempted takeover of the club fell by the wayside.
But while that side of things is pretty s--t, they do at least have an established goalkeeper who plays every game and was the club's player of the season.
11. Paulo Gazzaniga
Save Percentage: 70.9%
It looked for a while as though the Argentine was going to play more games than he did this season, with Hugo Lloris messing up his arm something awful.
Lloris recovered fairly quickly though, leaving Gazzaniga with 'just' four months between the sticks, in which he proved himself to be a little above the league average. Nice one.
10. Nick Pope
Save Percentage: 71.1%
So you're telling me that the man we all hoped would win the Golden Glove only just scrapes into the top ten of % shots saved?
What a fraud.*
*Joke, he's quite good and should be England's number one.
9. Vicente Guaita
Save Percentage: 71.4%
If you wanted entertainment during the 2019/20 season, you were probably best off avoiding Crystal Palace.
But if you wanted a flying Spaniard flying round his goal to keep his side in the division, you definitely made the right choice by going to Crystal Palace.
8. Alisson
Save Percentage: 72.2%
Winners of the Premier League by an absolute country mile, there's probably no reason to be upset about Alisson being out done by a handful of goalkeepers.
Then again, those who argue he's Brazil's number one...
7. Ederson
Save Percentage: 72.3%
...may dispute that because Ederson outshone his international teammate by a whole 0.1% (actually it was 0.06%, but that's not as fun).
He also won the Golden Glove, which is a nice feather in City's cap.
6. David de Gea
Save Percentage: 73.6%
For all those complaining about the performances of Man Utd's revered number one, take a look at these bad boy numbers.
Yup, 'Dave the Save' may let in some absolute rotters, but he does keep out most things chucked his way.
5. Kasper Schmeichel
Save Percentage: 73.8%
At one stage of the season, Leicester looked like absolute dead certs for Champions League qualification.
But were they only really in contention because Kasper Schmeichel saves a lot of shots? Quite possibly, as he did knock away 126 over the course of the season.
4. Dean Henderson
Save Percentage: 75.2%
The Dean Henderson hype train has slowed down in recent weeks, but constant chatter of a Man Utd return continues to bubble under the surface.
When you look at his numbers, it's hard to argue against him being a worthy competitor for De Gea. But competitor may be as far as you can go for now, because there's really very little in it...
3. Bernd Leno
Save Percentage: 77.6%
Arsenal's first half-season under Mikel Arteta has been a resounding success.
Winners of the FA Cup, they are now guaranteed of a place in next season's Europa League. So you can perhaps look back and laugh as a Gunners fan when you realise that the form of Leno was the only thing that had you in the running in the first place!
Good old German efficiency.
2. Hugo Lloris
Save Percentage: 79.6%
José Mourinho celebrating Europa League qualification like he'd just completed the treble is an image that we'll all remember for a long time to come.
But what we should also remember that Spurs wouldn't be there without captain Hugo Lloris. The numbers literally speak for themselves on the other side of north London, too.
1. Emiliano Martinez
Save Percentage: 81%
On 20 June 2020 (more symmetry!), the world of 27-year-old Emiliano Martinez changed.
Leno went off injured at Brighton, and the relatively unknown Argentine was thrust into action. His achievements?
- FA Cup winner? Check.
- New hero of north London? Check.
- Best keeper in the league for % shots saved? Check.
- Became Arsenal's new number one? Over to you, Mikel!