Premier League penalty kings: The surprise GK with the best record and the player who wins them for fun
Updated 07/02/2025 at 14:31 GMT
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The penalty is perhaps elite football in a microcosm. The biggest spotlight, the biggest pressure as you are required to deliver in the biggest moments for your team. The Premier League has seen some unflappable operators over the years, and we dig into Opta's considerable data bank to bring you who ranks top for taking, saving and earning. Word of warning: there are some shocks!
Fernandes 'clinically dispatches' penalty to put Man Utd ahead
Video credit: TNT Sports
If we tell you that an Arsenal goalkeeper ranks top of the all-time rankings for penalties saved in the Premier League era, who would you say?
Jens Lehmann? David Seaman? Petr Cech? Wrong, wrong, wrong. And I'm afraid you'll need to keep reading for the answer.
Penalties have taken on something of a different hue in the modern era. Stutter run-ups, visualisation and detailed taker data all make up part of a fascinating footballing sub-system that truly marks out the elite players.
And now, thanks to our friends at Opta, we have been able to compile rankings that reveal the best-ever takers in Premier League history, as well as the keepers who top the charts.
Get ready for a trip down memory lane....
Who is the best penalty-taker in Premier League history?
| Player | Pens taken | Pens scored | % scored |
| Palmer, Cole | 12 | 12 | 100% |
| Toure, Yaya | 11 | 11 | 100% |
| Jimenez, Raul | 10 | 10 | 100% |
| Le Tissier, Matt | 26 | 25 | 96.2% |
| Murphy, Danny | 19 | 18 | 94.7% |
| Wilson, Callum | 17 | 16 | 94.1% |
| Beattie, James | 17 | 16 | 94.1% |
| Dicks, Julian | 16 | 15 | 93.8% |
| Henry, Thierry | 25 | 23 | 92.0% |
| Saka, Bukayo | 12 | 11 | 91.7% |
| Toney, Ivan | 12 | 11 | 91.7% |
Of those to have taken a minimum of 10 penalties in the division, it's Cole Palmer who shares top billing with Yaya Toure and Fulham's Raul Jimenez.
When the young Chelsea star takes them like this, is it any surprise?
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'So cool and chilled under pressure' - Palmer fires Chelsea in front from the spot
Video credit: TNT Sports
Who has the best penalty-saving record in PL history?
To the keepers now. And this is where we take it right back.
| GK | Pens faced | Pens saved | Save % |
| Almunia, Manuel | 14 | 6 | 42.9% |
| Srnicek, Pavel | 10 | 4 | 40.0% |
| Gunn, Bryan | 10 | 4 | 40.0% |
| Henderson, Dean | 11 | 4 | 36.4% |
| Kharine, Dmitri | 11 | 4 | 36.4% |
| Bosnich, Mark | 18 | 6 | 33.3% |
| Seaman, David | 22 | 7 | 31.8% |
| Crossley, Mark | 20 | 6 | 30.0% |
| Boruc, Artur | 17 | 5 | 29.4% |
| Mignolet, Simon | 28 | 8 | 28.6% |
Yes, the answer to our opening question is none other than Manuel Almunia!
The Spaniard, at times maligned during his decade-long spell in England that ended in 2014, nonetheless still possesses the best penalty-saving record of anyone to have faced a minimum of 10 spot-kicks.
A whopping 42.9% of efforts failed to get past him, with fellow archive legends Pavel Srnicek and Bryan Gunn not far behind.
Of the current crop - and of possible optimism for England World Cup 2026 dreamers - Dean Henderson is right up there having repelled four of the 11 kicks he has faced.
And if we look through a more current lens, since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, then only one man - Nick Pope - is above Henderson (min. five penalties faced).
| GK | Pens faced | Pens saved | Save % |
| Pope, Nick | 5 | 2 | 40.0% |
| Henderson, Dean | 8 | 3 | 37.5% |
| Martinez, Emi | 8 | 2 | 25.0% |
| Areola, Alphonse | 9 | 2 | 22.2% |
| Sánchez, Robert | 14 | 3 | 21.4% |
| Forster, Fraser | 5 | 1 | 20.0% |
| Dúbravka, Martin | 5 | 1 | 20.0% |
| Steele, Jason | 5 | 1 | 20.0% |
| Alisson Becker | 5 | 1 | 20.0% |
| Muric, Arijanet | 5 | 1 | 20.0% |
A commendable mention here to yet another English spot-kick hero Jordan Pickford, who has saved two from two this season, including one from Erling Haaland.
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PL flashback: Pope saves expertly from Bamford's spot-kick
Video credit: TNT Sports
Who wins the most penalties in the PL?
Finally, we come onto an under-evaluated - but key - aspect of penalties. Who is best at winning them?
Running the numbers since the start of the 2022/23 season in the Premier League, we have a clear winner in Newcastle United's fleet-footed Anthony Gordon.
| Player | Pens won |
| Gordon, Anthony | 7 |
| Evanilson | 5 |
| Nketiah, Eddie | 4 |
| Watkins, Ollie | 4 |
| Diogo Jota | 4 |
| Wilson, Harry | 4 |
It is worth noting, however, that Bournemouth's Evanilson has won his five penalties in this season alone.
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'Like father like son' - Kluivert levels for Cherries from the spot
Video credit: TNT Sports
It's a big reason towards Cherries team-mate Justin Kluivert's penalty prowess that has seen the Dutchman convert six from six, topping the charts alongside Mohamed Salah, who also has six spotless efforts to his name.
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