Chelsea's Edouard Mendy is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world right now.
While Gianluigi Donnarumma and Jan Oblak almost certainly hold that status for 2021 as a whole, you'd be hard-pressed to argue that any shot-stopper is outperforming Mendy at the moment.
Besides, it was outrageous in the first place that Mendy was absent from the Ballon d'Or 30-man shortlist, but even more so when the 29-year-old dropped a masterclass in the Brentford win.
Mendy's stunning Chelsea form
Mendy couldn't have found a better way to raise two fingers to the voting machinations at France Football than by producing one of the greatest goalkeeping performances in Premier League history.
With the Blues entering the final minutes at the Brentford Community Stadium with a 1-0 lead, Mendy produced inspired save after inspired save to somehow keep the Bees at bay.
The Senegal international racked up a total of six saves to secure a shutout in Brentford, which raised his overall Premier League tally to a remarkable 20 clean sheets in just 38 appearances.
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How does Mendy compare?
Throw in the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup triumphs that garlanded his 2021 brilliance for good measure and it's pretty clear to see that Mendy is in a league of his own at the moment.
In fact, hold that thought, because such was Mendy's mastery over the weekend that we couldn't help wondering how his shot-stopping form compared to his rival Premier League goalkeepers.
It's a fascinating rabbit hole to go down, I'm sure you'll agree, so we wandered over to the extensive data and statistics at FBref to compare the shot-stoppers by their save percentages in 2021/22.
2021/22 Premier League goalkeeping stats
Now, for the record, a goalkeeper's save percentage is the number of shots on target that they faced which did not ripple the back of the net compared to the amount of efforts that did.
In other words, if a goalkeeper saved nine of the ten shots on target that they faced with the other ending up in a goal then their save percentage would come in at 90%. Simple enough, right?
Well, the pinch of the salt with which these statistics should be taken is that the shots on target included within the save percentage data can - in some cases - also be denied by defenders.
Premier League goalkeepers ranked by save %
Nevertheless, when you consider that Mendy has already racked up 23 saves in the league this season, which is the sixth-highest in the division, it would be fair to say that he's mostly responsible.
Anyhow, that's enough of the disclaimers because we know that you're here for the juicy statistics, so check out the 2021/22 Premier League goalkeepers ranked by their save percentages below:
Mendy really is head and shoulders above the rest right now, isn't he?
Mendy: Best in the world right now
Topping the charts with an incredible 96% save percentage, Mendy has faced 25 shots on target, made 23 saves and conceded just three goals from 630 minutes of Premier League football.
If you've spotted that the numbers don't quite align there in terms of goals conceded compared to unsaved shots on target, we can only assume that Mendy saved a shot off target along the way...?
However, at the end of the day, they're all being compared with the same stats and Aaron Ramsdale - who has flown out of the blocks at Arsenal - is the only 'keeper who even comes close to Mendy.
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And that's particularly interesting when you note that Bernd Leno is only a Freddie Woodman away from taking the wooden spoon, though he did - admittedly - have to play Chelsea and Manchester City.
Nevertheless, no matter how many ways you unpack what is certainly a fascinating line up of data, the moral of the story is that Mendy has no equal in the world of Premier League goalkeeping right now.
