Finding a good goalkeeper is key for any football side. You can be as good as you want in attack, but if you've got a poor shot stopper behind you, you're not going too far.
The Premier League has plenty of goalkeepers who can rightly be viewed as some of the finest in the world, but there's also a handful who leave a little to be desired at times.
Because nobody asked, let's rank each side's number one, as they stand at the start of the 2020/21 season!
Tin foil hats on....
20. Alex McCarthy (Southampton)
Often guilty of an abysmal mistake or an inexplicable decision, McCarthy has given Southampton more than a few sleepless nights.
With Angus Gunn and Fraser Forster waiting in the wings, McCarthy knows any error could be his last as the Saints' starter.
19. Sam Johnstone (West Brom)
Like most of the West Brom squad, Man Utd academy graduate Johnstone looks like he might have found his level in the Championship.
Even then, his return of 14 clean sheets from 46 games doesn't hold up against some of West Brom's direct rivals - most of whom exceeded that milestone with fewer appearances.
This season marks his first experience of Premier League football.
18. Illan Meslier (Leeds)
After replacing Kiko Casilla at the end of last season, 20-year-old Frenchman Meslier responded with a return of seven clean sheets from ten games. He's got game.
The problem is that he's yet to find a way to carry over to the top flight, where he has really struggled so far. It's been rough.
To be fair, he has time on his side to improve.
17. Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Pickford's a funny one. He's capable of looking like a wall one week, but balances that out with about two months of frustrating showings and mindless errors.
The Everton man is guilty of some of the most confusing mistakes you're ever likely to see and finished last season with a 63.4% save percentage - ahead of only Kepa Arrizabalaga. Shudder.
16. Aaron Ramsdale (Sheffield United)
Ramsdale is undoubtedly one of the league's better young goalkeepers, but that reputation isn't good enough to save him on this list.
After proving unable to stop Bournemouth getting relegated, Ramsdale has been given the unenviable takes of filling the void left by Dean Henderson at Bramall Lane. At 22, he still has some room to grow.
15. Mat Ryan (Brighton)
Ryan is one of the division's most unspectacular goalkeepers. He does his job at a solid level, and that's fine.
Australia's number one has done enough thus far to keep Brighton in the Premier League, and at the end of his day, that's what he's paid to do. Easy.
14. Martin Dúbravka (Newcastle)
With a little more consistency, Dúbravka could easily be towards the top of this list.
You'll often find Slovakia international pulling off a worldie save, but following that with a nightmarish error (no player made more mistakes leading to goals in 2019/20 than Dubravka with five).
If he can eradicate that side of the game, he'll be quick to climb up this list.
13. Łukasz Fabiański (West Ham)
Fabiański is a tricky one to pin down. He has proven himself as a great Premier League goalkeeper in the past, but whether he still has that in him is a different question entirely.
After a very strong 2018/19, the former Arsenal and Swansea man looked less impressive as West Ham were flirting with relegation last season (which was by no means solely on Fabiański).
He's yet to showcase any real improvement this year and at 35, his best years might be behind him.
12. Édouard Mendy (Chelsea)
Chelsea's new boy is somewhat of an unknown, but all the signs suggest he should be a great upgrade on Arrizabalaga.He was one of Ligue 1's most reliable goalkeepers last season, keeping out 78.4% of the shots he faced.
That was good enough to make him third in the division - well ahead of some of the goalkeepers from the league's top sides.
He also comes Petr Cech approved.
11. Alphonse Areola (Fulham)
Is Areola actually good? His CV suggests so, with Areola having played for Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Villarreal and France. He's a big old unit, with great reflexes and distribution
However, at 27, he's so far struggled to hold down a first-team place at the very top level.
Now at Fulham, he has the chance to either go the way or Edwin van der Sar or Sergio Rico...
10. Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa)
Villa's decision to throw a cool £20m at Arsenal to sign Martínez was a little wild, but it speaks volumes of just how impressive he was at the end of the 2019/20 season.
The Argentine looked like a viable threat to Bernd Leno's spot in the team, and it came as no surprise to see that plenty of sides wanted to snap him up this summer.
The FA Cup winner has already kicked off the season with a penalty save.
9. Vicente Guaita (Crystal Palace)
Links between Chelsea and Guaita were always a little confusing, but they did make some sense. The Spaniard knows what he's doing between the sticks.
His 71.4% save percentage from last season was the best return from any goalkeeper from a side outside the top nine, and his reliable shot stopping made up for Palace's lack of fire power in attack.
He's also something of an FPL favourite.
8. Nick Pope (Burnley)
In his last two full seasons either side of his shoulder injury, Pope was one of the Premier League's finest.
He led Burnley to one of the top defensive records in the league in 2019/20 and came desperately close to taking home the Golden Glove award.
Now, Pope's an England squad regular and is many fans' preferred starter.
7. Rui Patrício (Wolves)
A core part of the Portuguese revolution at Molineux, Patrício's excellent form has helped Wolves establish themselves as a genuine threat to the top four.
A Euros and Nations League winner, Patrício does is give you a solid 7/10 every week, and that's good enough for seventh spot on this list.
6. Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester City)
When you're the son of the legendary Peter Schmeichel, you better be a good goalkeeper. Fortunately for Kasper, he's exactly that.
The Leicester man is a commanding force in the penalty area, helping the Foxes back towards the top of the table. There was a time last season in which Leicester looked like viable title contenders, and that was largely down to Schmeichel's form.
5. David de Gea (Manchester United)
A few years ago, De Gea would have been at the top of this list, and it wouldn't have been close. The Manchester United man isn't quite at the peak of his powers these days, but he's still a good goalkeeper.
He's guilty of the odd howler, but he makes up for it by pulling off some saves which don't even look humanly possible.
4. Bernd Leno (Arsenal)
There was a reason that Arsenal were so prepared to offload Martínez this summer, and that reason was Leno.
Without attracting much hype, Leno has quietly established himself as one of the game's top shot stoppers. He was vital during Unai Emery's turbulent reign and is now living his best life under Mikel Arteta.
3. Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
Few goalkeepers are as frustrating as Lloris. He makes a few too many mistakes, but more than balances that out with some utterly outrageous saves.
The World Cup winner's save percentage of 79.6% was the highest of any goalkeeper in the Premier League last season, and it was no surprise to see Spurs suffer so much while he was out injured.
2. Ederson (Manchester City)
It was always going to be a two-horse/Brazilian race for top spot, but the unlucky man to miss out is Manchester City's Ederson.
The Brazilian's shot stopping is only part of what makes him so exciting. He's almost a third centre-back for Pep Guardiola's side, relying on his passing and creativity more than any goalkeeper in world football.
1. Alisson (Liverpool)
Out front is Liverpool's Alisson, whose arrival at Anfield was key in Jürgen Klopp's side's rise to the top of the football mountain.
His excellent positioning and reflexes make him a fantastic sweeper keeper, and he's just as good with his feet as he is with his hands. He's the gold standard of goalkeeping in England these days.
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Source : 90min