Is Robert Sanchez finally the right goalkeeper for Chelsea?

When Chelsea signed Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez it was expected that he would serve as competition to then Chelsea No.1 and fellow Spaniard Kepa Arrizabalaga. In a surprising turn of events though, Arrizabalaga would agree to a loan move to Real Madrid during the summer window that would leave Sanchez as the Blues number one for this season.

Despite a rough start to the season with five goals conceded in his first four outings, Sanchez has steadily become a reliable figure behind the sticks for CFC and arguably one of the Blues’ best players over the past few games. However, is the 25-year-old finally the permanent solution to the goalkeeper dilemma?

Is Robert Sanchez  finally the right goalkeeper for Chelsea?

The goalkeeper position is one of mass debate for CFC fans and many believe that for the Blues to return to their glory days, a world class keeper needs to be acquired. Well, Robert Sanchez is currently the goalkeeper with the cleanest sheets in the Premier league. From a pure shot stopping standpoint the Spaniard has kicked into another gear, saving the Blues from conceding on multiple occasions. Against Bournemouth and Aston Villa in particular, although we lost the latter match, Sanchez was responsible for keeping the score lines rather modest with his shot-stopping.

According to Whoscored.com, the 25 year old  also boasts the highest pass success rate among goalkeepers this season at 87.7 percent so far. The numbers are great, but there have been occasions this season where Sanchez’s errors in distribution have created opponent chances but luckily none have gone in. Overall in terms of passing and being a modern keeper he is an upgrade on past Chels’ keepers such as Kepa and Edouard Mendy.

Sanchez’s cross collection has also been elite. Standing at six foot five inches, he’s quite the imposing figure in the box and is never hesitant to step out when needed to collect opposition crosses into the box, a known weakness of Kepa’s. In a set-piece heavy league where the ball finds itself in the air more often than usual, having a confident goalkeeper in the air is refreshing.

Sanchez’s purple patch at the moment is a bit reminiscent of Edouard Mendy’s debut season at Stamford Bridge. Under Thomas Tuchel, the Senegalese keeper became one of the best shot-stoppers in the world for a season. Both share similarities in their saving ability and cross collection but Sanchez’s distribution is a class above. Fans will be hoping that unlike Mendy, Sanchez can carry on this form and become the Blues permanent number one beyond this season. Whether he can keep that consistency though is yet to be tested, as over his career Sanchez has been more of a confidence player. His time at Brighton proves this as he was highly regarded as one of the league’s best emerging keepers before losing his starting role to Jason Steele.

Chelsea’s next game will be against Burnley and after that the Blues kick off the hardest part of their early campaign with upcoming league fixtures against Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle and Tottenham. That will be the real test for Sanchez, because despite having the most clean sheets among keepers in the league he’s also benefited from the easiest run of fixtures. How the Spaniard fares against the best attacks in the league will determine whether the west London side can consider Sanchez their permanent No.1 for time to come.