When the Sky Sports’ show Monday Night Football compiled together different Premier League teams of the year, so far, a rather confused Gary Neville saw David De Gea’s name start in goal for Opta’s team. Opta is a sports data company that compile statistics from a variety of sports and, statistically, it is believed that David De Gea is the superior stopper so far this season. Many would have scoffed at this suggestion, much like Neville who dismissed it without batting an eye lid, however he has performed well on a purely statistical basis. Manchester United have faced the most shots on target, thus meaning that De Gea must have saved his fair few for United for them to be top of the Premier League table.
So why do people scoff at the suggestion that De Gea is the best in the league? It is down solely to his ability (or inability) at dealing with crosses. He is tall enough to handle dealing with height of crosses, yet he struggles immensely. This is purely down to his rather scrawny frame, which resembles a chimpanzee. He is rather long limbed, so able to pluck out shots heading for the top corner, though his lack of bulk means that he is easily nudged aside by opposing strikers in an aerial battle. If De Gea, who has not entirely cemented his position as first choice goalkeeper at United, was to put on some weight then it would be hard to deny that he would be up there with the league’s best goalkeepers.
He may have been put off weight gain by an incident in Tesco’s September 2011. He was caught shoplifting a £1.19 Krispy Kreme doughnut, despite being reportedly on £70, 000 a week. This is more likely due to a mix up in translation as the young Spaniard had only been in the country for a few months. If he carried on these antics and ate a few more weight gaining products, (whilst actually remembering to pay for his food this time) and was able to keep most of his agility he would be the best Goalkeeper in the Premier League.
