Goalkeepers have had a pretty tough time this season, with the Premier League ranking second in terms of goals per game ratio among Europe’s top five leagues. But in this article, we will discuss three players that have impressed so far in between the sticks.
Lukasz Fabianski – West Ham United
Following yet another uneventful start to the campaign, West Ham United have managed to make an excellent turnaround and much of it should be attributed to their defensive solidity in recent months.
While the defensive back-four of Pablo Zabaleta, Issa Diop, Fabian Balbuena and Arthur Masuaku have done fairly well, much of the credit should be given to Lukasz Fabianski, who has conceded only ten goals since October.
He has also clocked up an impressive average of 3.8 saves per game, which is considerably higher than the likes of David de Gea, Ederson and Leno which is enough to indicate the influence Fabianski has had this season.
The Polish international has also made an average 1.4 saves from outside the box, which is only bettered by De Gea and his fiery performances will definitely help him make a strong case for being selected ahead of Wojciech Szczesny as Poland’s number one keeper.
Kepa Arrizabalaga – Chelsea
Kepa Arrizabalaga became the most expensive goalkeeper in Premier League history when he moved to Chelsea in the summer for an astounding fee of €80 million. And four months later, it is probably fair to say that the Blues certainly won’t be disappointed, thanks to his impressive performances in both domestic and European campaigns thus far.
Indeed, Kepa has conceded just 14 goals in 17 matches so far and only Alisson has managed more clean sheets than the 24-year-old. Although he has made one or two telling mistakes this campaign, his average of 2.2 saves per game is an impressive tally given the fact that Chelsea are a team who like to retain possession.
Kepa definitely deserves credit for ably replacing Courtois in such a short span of time and being so young, he is only bound to improve as he aims to live up to his expensive price-tag.
Joe Hart – Burnley
Joe Hart’s move to Burnley in the summer seemed like yet another downgrade for the former Manchester City goalkeeper, who has endured a rough time in the past few years.
However, his performances with Burnley this campaign might have just handed him a chance to set a respectable platform for the final phase of his career. Yes, his team have not been at their best by any stretch of imagination but if not for the English keeper’s interventions, things could have been much worse.
As a matter of fact, Hart has averaged 4.2 saves per game, which is more than anyone else in the league so far(minimum ten games played).
However, what’s more impressive is his average of 2.4 saves from shots taken inside the penalty box. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that the former English international may be regaining his old form this season. It will be interesting to see how he performs throughout the rest of what has set up to be an extremely difficult campaign for Burnley.
Stat courtesy: Whoscored
