Jürgen Klopp signed a player who was the complete package back in the summer of 2018, with Alisson Becker joining Liverpool from AS Roma. The Brazilian international temporarily became the most expensive goalkeeper on the planet at the time, and he's since proved to be worth every cent.
The South American has established himself as the best number one on the continent since his high-profile switch to Merseyside. He merges virtually all of the typically desirable goalkeeping qualities to paint himself as the ultimate player in his position, with few able to compete with him for the accolade.
Alisson has expert distribution skills when building moves from the back, and he's a natural when required to vacate his own penalty box in order to sweep up dangerous opposition passes. On top of those modern perks, he's also one of the best shot-stoppers around, and he's a natural leader behind the scenes.
The Reds goalkeeper is regarded as the gold standard in the Premier League. The large majority of his peers possess specific strengths, but all while falling short in at least one department. Manchester City's Ederson, for example, is a master when in possession of the ball, but his ability to save shots has always been fairly average.
David de Gea has been a solid contributor for Manchester United over the past decade, saving more shots than expected, but while encountering problems when engaging in passing moves and when he's encouraged to sweep up far from his own penalty box, and the same applies to Hugo Lloris of Tottenham Hotspur.
As Alisson prepares for his sixth Premier League campaign between the sticks at Anfield, Arsenal has seemingly realized the need to upgrade within its ranks. Aaron Ramsdale has been the number one for the Gunners since 2021, meaning he's only had two seasons as a starter.
Nevertheless, recent transfer links suggest that Mikel Arteta is interested in signing a player who would potentially take his place on the pitch. According to The Athletic, Arsenal is exploring a transfer move for David Raya, who has been contracted to Brentford since 2019 but now wishes to step up to a higher level.
“He's worth $51m (£40m/€47m)," said Bees boss Thomas Frank when asked about the speculation. "He was one of the four best goalkeepers in the Premier League last season.” Indeed, Brentford seems willing to allow Raya to depart, but nobody expected Arsenal to be in the running for his signature due to Ramsdale's presence.
The English goalkeeper has showcased an ability in possession since joining the Gunners two years ago. He's very good with the ball at his feet, but it is likely that Arteta knows that his shot-stopping quality is not particularly great, and his struggles can be captured using the numbers beneath the surface.
Since Ramsdale joined Arsenal, he's faced a grand total of 264 shots on target in the Premier League, and those efforts have been worth around 78.2 goals according to expected goals. In actual reality, though, the 25-year-old has conceded 80 times, meaning he's delivered a slight underperformance in comparison to the average goalkeeper.
In simple terms, if a perfectly ordinary number one had faced the same shots as Ramsdale, he would have likely conceded 78 times rather than 80, and those numbers suggest his shot-stopping ability is problematic at present, unlike Alisson who ranks among the best.
Since his move to Europe from his homeland five years ago, Alisson has been expected to concede around 192.8 goals in league competitions for Liverpool and AS Roma, but he's only actually shipped 168 goals.
Klopp's number one has overperformed expectations by an incredible 24.8 goals since 2017, which is one of the reasons why he's known to be the best.
Arteta has a passer and a sweeper in his net, but one who can't seem to make the necessary saves to deliver meaningful silverware just yet. Klopp, on the other hand, has a goalkeeper who can do it all, and proved to be a gamechanger in delivering the Champions League and Premier League trophies.
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