"You can't win league titles without a world-class goalkeeper."
Those are the words of Gary Neville.
And he's not wrong.
Look back at all Premier League title winners and the goalkeeper played a huge role in that title victory. With goalkeepers now expected to play out from the back to build attacks, it's arguably the most important position on the pitch these days.
So, ahead of the 2022/23 Premier League season, we've decided to look at the first-choice goalkeeper for each Premier League club.
And, despite us never playing a single game of football between the sticks, we've decided to rank all 20 of them from 'Overrated' to 'The Best.'
Please remember, this is simply our opinion and you're free to disagree with each and every ranking. In fact, it's actively encouraged.
So, without further ado, check out our ranking of 2022/23 Premier League goalkeepers:
Overrated
- Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester)
His dad may be the greatest goalkeeper the Premier League has ever seen but we think 35-year-old Kasper is past his best at Leicester. We’re not saying he’s necessarily the worst goalkeeper in the league but one we feel is the most overrated. Okay, he did help Leicester achieve the impossible during the 2015/16 campaign but that's a long time ago now...
Average
- Alex McCarthy (Southampton)
- Illan Meslier (Leeds)
- Marek Rodak (Fulham)
- Mark Travers (Bournemouth)
We’re placing four goalkeepers in our ‘Average’ tier.
Two of them - Rodak and Travers - are coming up from the Championship. Both impressed for their respective sides to help earn them promotion to the Premier League but, due to the fact they’re both relatively inexperienced at this level we can’t place them any higher.
McCarthy missed a large chunk of last season at Southampton due to injury, only returning for the final two games of the campaign. We’re not convinced he’s anything too special.
Meslier is still only 22 and highly rated at Leeds. It’s perhaps due to his age that Meslier is prone to a few errors. He also conceded 78 goals in 38 Premier League games last season - although he’s certainly not solely to blame for that.
Decent
- David Raya (Brentford)
- Dean Henderson (Nottingham Forest)
- Jose Sa (Wolves)
- Lukasz Fabianski (West Ham)
- Martin Dubravka (Newcastle)
- Robert Sanchez (Brighton)
- Vicente Guaita (Crystal Palace)
There are seven goalkeepers placed in the ‘Decent’ category.
We’ll start with Raya, whose knee injury hampered his first season in the Premier League with Brentford. But his No.1 spot may be in danger after Brentford announced the signing of Thomas Strakosha from Lazio.
Henderson has moved to Nottingham Forest on loan to look for first-team football that he wasn’t getting at Manchester United. This could be a huge campaign in his career.
Sa was extremely difficult to beat last season with Wolves conceding just 40 goals in 37 Premier League appearances. He may consider himself unlikely to only be in the ‘Decent’ category.
Fabiankski may be 37 but he’s still going strong at West Ham, missing just one Premier League game all season.
Dubravka missed the start of the season at Newcastle but returned to help the Toon Army finish strongly. In 26 games, he conceded 38 goals and looked back to his very best.
Sanchez played a huge role in Brighton’s positive season, playing 37 games and conceding just 42 goals. He made some crucial saves in narrow victories for Graham Potter’s men.
Guaita is now 35 but remains Crystal Palace’s No.1. In 30 appearances last season, he conceded just 33 goals. Palace also have Jack Butland but Guaita has barely put a foot wrong.
Very Good
- Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)
- Jordan Pickford (Everton)
- Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
- Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
- David de Gea (Manchester United)
Now we’re talking.
We think there are six ‘Very Good’ goalkeepers in the Premier League right now.
We’ll start with Mendy who won the Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper in 2021 but didn’t enjoy the finest season at Stamford Bridge in 2021/22. Is he one of the best goalkeepers in world football? Sorry, we think there are a handful better.
Pickford’s performances helped keep Everton in the Premier League last season. He appears to have cut out his silly errors and has matured immensely.
Pickford’s England teammate, Ramsdale, proved a lot of doubters wrong last season at Arsenal. He’s become a fan favourite with his sh*thousery and his world-class saves. He’s still capable of making mistakes, though, which means we’re not placing him in the ‘World Class’ category just yet.
Lloris is entering his 11th season at Tottenham and will be looking to skipper them to success under Antonio Conte. The 35-year-old hasn’t missed a Premier League game in the last two campaigns - but is he still in his prime?
Martinez left Arsenal for Aston Villa last summer and, while it wasn’t a vintage season for the Argentine, he’s still a very good goalkeeper.
Rounding off this tier is De Gea. We dread to think where Man United would have been without the Spaniard last season. But while he may be one of the best shot-stoppers in world football, we don’t feel comfortable calling him ‘World Class.’ His lack of ball-playing ability is an issue while he’s still capable of making a blunder or two.
World Class
- Ederson (Manchester City)
Ederson is one of the best goalkeepers in world football. There’s no doubt about that. His ability with the ball at his feet is second-to-none. However, playing for Man City presents its own challenges and we feel the Brazilian can often be culpable of lapses in concentration, leading to a mistake.
The Best
- Alisson (Liverpool)
Alisson is the best goalkeeper in the Premier League - in our opinion. The fact he’s Brazil’s No.1 suggests that it’s not just us who rate him above Ederson.
He was sensational last season as Liverpool went in search of a quadruple. Jurgen Klopp’s side play such a high line because they know just how good Alisson is at one-on-ones. He saved the Reds on multiple occasions and will continue to do so for many years to come.
Final rankings
So, there we go.
Alisson is the best goalkeeper in the Premier League and Schmeichel is overrated.
Of course, this is just our opinion and we’d love you to join in the discussion on our Facebook comments section.
In truth, you’ve got to be at an incredible level to even be in a Premier League squad. But to be a starter for a team in England’s top flight, is another level.
All 20 goalkeepers are brilliant in their own right and, us ranking them having barely donned a pair of goalie gloves in our lives, is a bit rich.
But football is a game of opinions, right?
