Robert Sánchez has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season, and frankly, it isn't spoken about enough. Arsenal fans won't like hearing it, but Chelsea's goalkeeper might be challenging David Raya for the best GK in the Premier League spot, and he might even challenge him for a World Cup spot this year.
If you were to say that exact thing last year, even Chelsea fans would have rolled their eyes. David Raya was clearly the best goalkeeper in the Premier League last season, and it wasn't close. He's almost certainly still the best player in the English top flight this campaign, but at least Robert Sánchez is giving him a run for his money.
Robert Sánchez outperforms any goalkeeper in Europe... apparently
According to data from CIES, Sánchez is outperforming his expected conceded goals more than any other goalkeeper in the top five leagues.
Goalkeeper | Difference between goals conceded and expected goals conceded |
|---|---|
Robert Sánchez | -0.65 |
Joan García | -0.56 |
Hervé Koffi | -0.49 |
Aarón Escandell | -0.42 |
Mike Maignan | -0.41 |
If you don't know what on earth that means... you're not alone.
Basically, there's a hidden formula that nobody really understands that calculates the likelihood of a goal being conceded. That's your expected conceded goals. The lower the differences between goals actually conceded and goals expected to be conceded, the better a goalkeeper is performing.
Nobody in the top five leagues scored lower than Sánchez at this very niche stat, and that's a good thing.
Interestingly, Sánchez is saving Chelsea more than Mike Maignan is saving AC Milan. It could have very much been the case that Maignan was between the sticks for Chelsea instead, but hey, he seems to be doing pretty well in Milan himself.
Robert Sánchez is finally threatening David Raya
Arsenal fans might argue that nobody in Europe, let alone England, comes close to David Raya. However, those that watch Robert Sánchez on a weekly basis might be starting to differ.
Sánchez is the closest thing to David Raya right now, and that's a threat to Arsenal for two reasons (not just losing the title of having the PL's best goalkeeper).
David Raya faces competition from both Robert Sánchez AND Joan García, who was second in the table, for a place in Spain's World Cup squad.
Pound for pound, Spain has the best goalkeeper options in the world. It's not even close, annoyingly.
The champions of Europe will hope to add to their illustrious history by winning the biggest sports competition in the world this summer in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Chelsea fans can only hope Robert Sánchez beats David Raya to being front and center of the celebrations in that likelihood.