Every side needs a solid goalkeeper. Ultimately, if you keep clean sheets you can not lose and that is why having a top keeper is so important, but who are the best that the Premier League has seen?
Brad Friedel
Despite seemingly seeing out his Premier league days as the second goalkeeper at Tottenham, Friedel has been a standout goalkeeper in the last few years. After a tricky start to life in England at Liverpool, he moved to Blackburn and that is where he became a Premier League stalwart.
In the 2002-03 season he made 15 clean sheets earning him Blackburn’s player of the season award. He holds the record of most consecutive games played in the Premier league, 310 games, before it ended last season. Impressive performances for mid table teams such as Blackburn and also Aston Villa made his successes even more impressive, earning him a spot on this list.
Edwin van der Sar
It took a while but Edwin Van Der Sar enjoyed some excellent success in the Premier League. After joining Fulham from Juventus, he spent four years at Craven Cottage, performing week in, week out before finally Manchester United signed him.
They had tried before he had joined Juventus but they finally had the man who could properly replace Peter Schmeichel. In his six years, he won four Premier League titles and Sir Alex Ferguson has proclaimed that in Schmeichel and van der Sar, he has had the two best goalkeepers the Premier League has seen. His shot-stopping ability and his commanding, reassuring figure helped create a solid base in which United benefited from greatly.
David Seaman
Arsenal and England’s number one for over a decade, Seaman quickly became an Arsenal legend. Along with Dixon, Winterburn, Adams and Keown, he created a solid base in which Arsenal laid their attacking foundations on. He has played more games for Arsenal than any other goal keeper has and is only second in Arsenal's all-time list to Ray Parlour.
In his time he has produced some fantastic saves, none much better than his one in the Fa Cup semi-final in 2003, which Schmeichel called the ‘best save ever’. He ended his last season with over 1000 professional appearances and was one of the best keepers in the Premier League.
Petr Cech
Petr Cech has been one of the best signings under Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea reign, I don't think you can argue with that. Originally brought in as an understudy to Carlo Cudicini, he quickly claimed the number 1 shirt away from the Italian. He held the record of 1025 minutes without conceding a Premier League goal, before Edwin van der Sar took it away from him and he has amassed 145 clean sheets in his Chelsea career so far.
It seemed that in the last couple of years he has been suffering from a loss of form, but this season and the end of last season he has looked more like his own self - the player that was easily the best player in the league.
Peter Schmeichel
Despite a rocky start to his English career, Schmeichel quickly become one of the best players not only in the Premier League but also the world. With his famous star jump leap to make saves, Schmeichel instilled confidence in all defenders who played in front of him and played a huge part in the treble winning side, especially the penalty save against Arsenal in the Fa Cup semi-final. Five titles in his eight years at Old Trafford and the record for the greatest clean sheets-to-games ratio, 42%, help prove that he is the best goalkeeper the league has ever seen.
Honourable mentions: Shay Given, Nigel Martyn, Paul James
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