Top 5 Shot Stoppers From The 2012/13 Premier League Season Based On Opta Stats

Often said to be the toughest position to play in football, the goalkeeper is more often criticised for his performance than praised.

Manchester United’s David de Gea made the PFA Team of the Year, but here are the five regular first choice goalkeepers (20 games or more) that based on Opta statistics had the highest save percentage during the 2012-13 Premier League season:

1. Petr Čech (Chelsea) – 77.22%

The Chelsea first choice goalkeeper only missed two Premier League games all season, keeping 14 clean sheets (only Manchester City’s Joe Hart had more). With the central defence partnership changing throughout the season (John Terry, David Luiz, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic all played there), Petr Čech remained dependable to his two managers this season, with the highest save percentage of all goalkeepers playing at least half of their team’s games.

2. David de Gea (Manchester United) – 76.36%

The Manchester United goalkeeper came under a lot of criticism during his first season in English football, but settled in during a title-winning second that saw David de Gea make the PFA Team of the Year. It wasn’t until Anders Lindegaard had a bad game in United’s 4-3 victory over Reading on 1 December that Sir Alex Ferguson was convinced to stick with de Gea. Since then, there’s been no looking back – ending the season with 8 clean sheets in his final 12 league games.

3. Jussi Jääskeläinen (West Ham United) – 75.80%

The busiest goalkeeper in the Premier League this season, West Ham’s Jussi Jääskeläinen made the most saves (166) in the top flight this season. Sam Allardyce made a good choice in signing the Finnish goalkeeper after Bolton Wanderers dropped the experienced goalkeeper in favour of Ádám Bogdán for the second half of their 2011-12 Premier League relegation campaign. Jääskeläinen put in a number of top performances to make up for a weak defence in front of him.

4. Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal) – 75.00%

He may struggle with set pieces and confidence sometimes, but Arsenal’s number 1 ended the season on a high – keeping 4 clean sheets in his final 6 games. Whether it was when the Arsenal defence wasn’t on top form, or when they were, Wojciech Szczęsny kept his concentration in saving three-quarters of the shots he faced this season.

5. Simon Mignolet (Sunderland) – 73.40%

One of four goalkeepers to play every minute in the Premier League this season, Simon Mignolet nailed down his place as the Sunderland number 1 after facing competition from both Keiren Westwood and Craig Gordon the previous season. The Black Cats defence has kept the Belgian busy, something that has helped Mignolet establish himself as his country’s number two.

Any surprise names on that list? Is there a goalkeeper you thought would be in there? Get involved in the comments section below.

For the full list of 2012-13 Premier League goalkeeper statistics, please visit:
http://www.barriesview.com/2013/05/2012-13-premier-league-goalkeeper-stats

Written by Barrie