West Ham United secured the services of Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski from Swansea for £7million last summer, and it’s safe to say the 33-year-old is one of the best bargain signings of the season.
The former Arsenal man has been in goal for the Hammers in every minute of their Premier League campaign thus far this term, keeping five clean sheets and making 117 saves – the most in the league.
While West Ham have only managed to win 11 games, drawing six and losing the other 13, things might have been worse if Fabianski wasn’t in goal, and Arsenal legend Alan Smith believes the Poland international gives the likes of Manchester City’s Ederson, Liverpool’s Alisson, Manchester United’s David De Gea and Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris a run for their money.
“He doesn’t tend to catch the eye, or stand out from the crowd. He doesn’t say much in the media to big himself up.
Instead, Lukasz Fabianski goes about his work in an unfussy way, making important saves at important times, just like top goalkeepers are supposed to do,” Smith wrote in his Evening Standard column.
“Yet West Ham’s No1 hardly gets a mention when it comes to discussing the best keepers around.
Ederson, Alisson, David De Gea, Hugo Lloris — such names habitually dominate the agenda.
“But when it comes to mistakes, I reckon Fabianski has made fewer than most over the last couple of years.”
While the West Ham star struggled to establish himself during his seven years at Arsenal, he made a name for himself at Swansea in his four years at the Welsh club, emerging their player of the year in his last season.
As Smith pointed out, Fabianski has “developed into a keeper of real substance, someone to depend on week in, week out”, and the London Stadium outfit can count themselves lucky for having such a quality goalie capable of giving the big boys the run for their money within their ranks.
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