Peter Schmeichel: Best goalkeeper in Premier League history?
It’s somewhat fitting that the loneliest position in football is often identified as the No.1.
That said, you can’t have a game without a goalkeeper – their importance is beyond question. Even in this role there is a difference between a great shot-stopper and a very good one.
Since the Premier League’s inception we’ve seen a number of spectacular ‘keepers. But who are in the pantheon of Premier League goalkeepers?
Here at Squawka, we’ve taken up the extremely difficult task of ranking the top 10 stoppers in the competition’s history.
Disagree with any of our picks? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook!
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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 quite frankly remarkable.
It may have been helped slightly by the fact that he played under one of the best defensive managers around in Rafa Benitez, but the Spanish shot-stopper did more than enough to contribute to that stat himself.
Reina was one of the first goalkeepers in the Premier League to truly embrace playing with the ball at his feet and his agility led to some quite breathtaking saves reminiscent of the Orca’s jump to freedom in 1993’s ‘Free Willy’.
His only real downside was a tendency to have the odd erratic moment, making Reina much more unpredictable than the nine ‘keepers ahead of him in this list. He also tailed off toward his time at Anfield, it must be said, and was a shadow of his former self when returning with Aston Villa for a brief spell.
9. Ederson
Club(s): Man City
Premier League appearances: 228
Premier League clean sheets: 106
Premier League titles: 5
A five-time Premier League champion with Manchester City, Ederson has kept over 100 clean sheets in the division and was the third-quickest to that milestone after two men further up this list (but we’re not spoiling that). The Brazilian is the epitome of the modern goalkeeper, starting Man City’s attacks and he has three assists in the Premier League.
The only thing stopping Ederson moving higher up this list is the fact that he has been known to wander a bit in matches which costs his side a few clean sheets.
8. Alisson
Club(s): Liverpool
Premier League appearances: 185
Premier League clean sheets: 82
Premier League titles: 1
Regardless of his ability, Alisson wrote his name into the Premier League history books in May 2021 when he became one of just six goalkeepers to score a goal in the division, netting a late winner for Liverpool against West Brom which helped them secure a top four finish. But, luckily for Liverpool, he’s also pretty good at the goalkeeping.
At the end of the 2022/23 campaign, Alisson’s fifth in the Premier League, the Brazilian had kept 78 clean sheets and battled alongside Ederson to be the best in the division. While Ederson has a better clean sheet rate, Alisson has been a lot more important to Liverpool’s defence, helping to turn them into Premier League champions in 2019/20. He’s also comfortable with the ball at his feet, a growing requirement in the modern game.
The question is, how much higher could Alisson move up this list?
7. Jens Lehmann
Club(s): Arsenal
Premier League appearances: 148
Premier League clean sheets: 54
Premier League titles: 1
Let’s not beat about the bush; Jens Lehmann was absolutely bonkers. One minute, he was pulling off a barnstorming save to keep Arsenal in a game, the next he’s throwing water at an official in the Highbury tunnel.
However, Lehmann played all 38 games in Arsenal’s invincible title-winning season in 2003/04, keeping 21 clean sheets in the process. At his glorious best, the former Germany international could intimidate opposition strikers into making totally uncharacteristic errors in front of goal and commanded his box as well as any ‘keeper you could come across.
His mercurial nature pushes him down this list a little. But, let’s be honest, he wouldn’t be the Lehmann we all know and love (or hate) without it.
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
Joe Hart may have suffered Wall Street-esque crash in recent years, but you would be a fool to forget just how good the 36-year-old was at the peak of his powers.
As many as 109 of Hart’s 127 Premier League clean sheets came during his trophy-laden time with Manchester City, helping the club to two league titles among those honours.
Hart was – and still kind of is – agile, vocal and can stop an Exocet missile on his day; that accursed left-hand side has been the only thing to let him down over the years. Hart did, however, make 77 saves for Burnley in his final Premier League campaign, one more than Liverpool’s shot-stopper Alisson.
5. David de Gea
Club(s): Manchester United
Premier League appearances: 415
Premier League clean sheets: 147
Premier League titles: 1
When the spindly, fragile figure of David de Gea walked through the doors at Old Trafford in 2011, few could have predicted just how good he would become.
But despite some shaky performances early on, it didn’t take long for the Spaniard to start proving his doubters wrong and by 2013, he was a Premier League champion.
The 33-year-old kept almost 150 clean sheets in the English top flight and just when you thought his powers are dwindling, up the Spaniard popped with a show-stopping performance to win Man Utd points. Despite not being at his best, De Gea ended the 2022/23 campaign with the Golden Glove, keeping 17 clean sheets – three more than any other goalkeeper.
Overall, only Ben Foster has made more saves in the Premier League than De Gea’s 1,157. But he may not have a chance to add to that record, leaving Man Utd in the summer and still being without a club.
4. Edwin van der Sar
Club(s): Fulham, Manchester United
Premier League appearances: 313
Premier League clean sheets: 132
Premier League titles: 4
After struggling for form during a two-year stay with Juventus, Edwin van der Sar rocked up at Fulham in 2001 and set about restoring his reputation as one of Europe’s most consistent goalkeepers. His 127 appearances for the Cottagers did just that, as well as helping the Londoners extend their stay in the Premier League far longer than many expected. It also eventually earned a move back to the top with Manchester United.
There, Van der Sar helped the Red Devils re-assert their dominance in the Premier League, winning the title four times among a host of other honours, and the flying Dutchman was often regarded as the ‘first world-class Man United goalkeeper since Peter Schmeichel’.
With a clean sheet average of 42.17%, it’s quite hard to argue with that statement.
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3. David Seaman
Club(s): Arsenal, Manchester City
Premier League appearances: 344
Premier League clean sheets: 140
Premier League titles: 2
A rock of consistency behind a water-tight Arsenal defence, David Seaman was an unbelievable goalkeeper on the pitch and an absolute gentleman off it.
Seaman helped the Gunners to two Premier League titles during his time between the sticks at Highbury and while he wasn’t the best with the ball at his feet, as was the case for ‘keepers at the time, his shot-stopping capabilities knew almost no bounds.
Seaman also exuded an air of calm behind the Arsenal back four that was only really restored when Petr Cech made the switch to north London from Chelsea (more on him below).
2. Petr Cech
Club(s): Chelsea, Arsenal
Premier League appearances: 443
Premier League clean sheets: 202
Premier League titles: 4
No goalkeeper has kept more Premier League clean sheets (202) than Petr Cech, while his exploits also helped Chelsea to four titles between 2004 and 2015.
Cech was arguably at the peak of his powers during his first season with the Blues in 2004/05, breaking the record for most clean sheets (24) in a single season, while also going 10 consecutive games without conceding a goal.
However, with 443 appearances in the English top flight under his belt, his longevity is mightily impressive. No wonder Iker Casillas described Cech as ‘one of the best goalkeepers he has ever seen.’
Honourable mentions:
Before we bring you our number one, here are some honourable mentions that couldn’t be left out completely: 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 colossus. You would have to travel quite far to find someone who doesn’t regard Peter Schmeichel as the Premier League’s greatest goalkeeper of all time.
While the introduction of the back-pass rule may have highlighted a slight weakness with the ball at Schmeichel’s feet, the Dane was actually one of the biggest advocates of the rule change and the way it revolutionised the game. And in turn, with his trademark starfish save, Schmeichel had the same effect on the art of goalkeeping, making it a truly specialised position.
The 6ft 3in stopper was a key part of five of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Premier League title winning sides, including the treble-winners of 1999, and his overarm sling sent Manchester United on their way to many goalscoring counter attacks. And if that wasn’t enough, Schmeichel even got himself on the scoresheet during a 3-2 away defeat at Everton while playing for Aston Villa in 2001, becoming the first Premier League ‘keeper to do so.
