Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez came under heavy fire last week after making an error that led to an Arsenal goal in the League Cup semi-final first leg.
But, after a Man of the Match performance against Brentford over the weekend, we look at why Chelsea doesn’t need to sign a new keeper to replace Robert Sanchez.
Robert sanchez at chelsea
To say that Sanchez has had an up-and-down career at Chelsea is an understatement.
Sanchez was signed from Brighton for £25m in the summer of 2023. He was brought in to replace Kepa Arrizabalaga, who had gone to Real Madrid on loan.
It proved to be a difficult start to life at Chelsea for Sanchez. The Spanish keeper kept just 3 clean sheets in his first 16 Premier League games at the club. An injury away at Everton led to him being replaced by Djordje Petrovic, another new keeper.
In the 16 games fans saw of Sanchez in the Premier League that season, they saw a keeper who was shaky, seemingly prone to panicking, and unnecessarily getting involved in play when the easier – and wiser – option was to stay as close to his goal as possible.
Everything that was wrong with Sanchez was summed up in the final minute of Chelsea’s 2-0 loss to Brentford. In added-time, he was seen racing after the Brentford counter-attack, having gone up the other end of the pitch for a corner.
After picking up his injury against Everton, Sanchez only played another two games that season. Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino instead opted to keep Petrovic as his first-choice keeper.
In both games Sanchez played, both in the FA Cup, he conceded four goals. This included a calamitous own goal from Axel Disasi against Leicester City.
A disappointing first season ended with Sanchez firmly as the second choice. Petrovic looked like the keeper Chelsea would stick with going forward.
The 2024/2025 season
Over the summer, the Chelsea higher-ups made two huge decisions. They mutually agreed to end Pochettino’s time at the club, bringing in Enzo Maresca to replace him. Additionally, Petrovic was sent out on loan to the French side Strasbourg.
Sanchez, who over the summer looked like he was in for another season on the bench, was suddenly the first choice. again.
His season got off to an okay start, though it took him until Gameweek 4 in the Premier League to secure his first clean sheet.
However, strong performances – and a string of solid stops – against teams like Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester United showed the beginnings of improvement.
However, it was towards the end of the season when Sanchez really started to shine.
The keeper managed to keep clean sheets against Manchester United at home and away at a very dangerous Nottingham Forest side. His heroics helped Chelsea qualify for the Champions League.
He then continued his excellent form into the Club World Cup in America, keeping 4 clean sheets in 7 games. This included one in the final against perhaps the best PSG team of all time.
By the end of the season, Sanchez had gone from shaky, unreliable, and, to be totally frank, a bit of a liability, to one of the most solid shot stoppers in the league – and a World Champion.
Robert Sanchez at Chelsea – the current season
This season has been even better for Sanchez, despite a couple of blunders.
The Spaniard was shown a straight red less than 5 minutes into an away loss at Manchester United in September. He then had a bit of a howler against Arsenal in the League Cup semi-final first leg last week, letting the ball slip through his hands and straight into the path of Gyökeres.
However, claims that Sanchez is the “worst keeper in the league” are unfair and unfounded.
The Spaniard has kept 10 clean sheets in the league this season – second only to Arsenal’s David Raya.
He’s also kept 2 in the Champions League, including a tightly fought match against Benfica and a thrashing of an in-form Barcelona.
He’s hardly put a foot wrong this season, showing year-on-year improvement as a keeper and as Chelsea’s number one.
Does Chelsea need a new keeper?
So now we consider, do Chelsea need to sign a new keeper and replace Robert Sanchez?
The short answer – no.
The stats don’t lie. Robert Sanchez has been one of the best keepers in the Premier League this season so far. In fact, if we’re going by clean sheets alone, he’s the second-best keeper in the league this season. The only keeper better than him on that front is Arsenal’s David Raya. Though it does help that Raya has a world-class defence in front of him.
Sanchez is a solid shot-stopper and has played excellently at times this season, in particular against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in October and Arsenal at the Bridge in November.
Could he be better? Of course, he could. Then again, so could Donnarumma, Raya, Alisson, Pope…the list goes on.
Sanchez has shown improvements season on season and is four clean sheets away from matching last season’s clean sheet achievements.
If anything, Sanchez needs better defenders in front of him. Centre-backs like Chalobah, Tosin, and Badiashile have been prone to errors this season, leaving their keeper exposed, and there’s only so much he can do when that happens.
Yes, he’s made a couple of glaring errors this season, but in terms of errors leading to goals in the league, he’s made the same amount as Raya and Alisson – 0.
Chelsea will be happy with the clear progress Sanchez has made at the club, and even better, he’s only 28. With keepers playing well into their late 30s and early 40s these days, and with the Spaniard showing a clear pattern of improvement, Chelsea may finally have the right man between the sticks after years of uncertainty with Kepa Arrizabalaga.