Premier League strikers such as Wayne Rooney and Obafemi Martins are constantly in the limelight as the fans know that it is through their goals that their clubs will flourish. But over the last week, much of the limelight has been on the goalkeepers.

Having a reliable goalkeeper may well be the difference between your club finishing in the top or bottom half of the table. It also shows why Sunderland were so willing to fork out £7m to bring Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gorden to the Stadium of Light. But the goalkeepers who made the news in the last week were Arsenal veteran Jens Lehmann and Manchester City's new-kid-on-the-block Kasper Schmeichel .

German international Lehmann, an Arsenal icon for his role in helping the club maintain a 49 league match unbeaten run, broke the hearts of all Gunners when he showed the world how erratic he could be. In his first match of the new season, Lehmann's indecision gifted Fulham a goal after just 52 seconds. Fortunately for Lehmann, his teammates helped save him from further blushes by scoring two goals and helping Arsenal to their first three point of the season.

'Young Schmeichel must be doing something right as he is now the only goalkeeper in the Premier League who has not conceded a goal'


That was not the end. Lehmann's butterfingers were on display once again against Blackburn when a simple shot somehow slipped through his hands.

Moving along to the city of Manchester, we saw the Herculean performance of 20-year-old Kasper Schmeichel against champions Manchester United. Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson must either be really brave or totally berserk to place so much trust in this young lad to be that last line of defence. But the son of the great Peter Schmeichel has proved he is worth his salt. His decisions were inch-perfect, and he faced his United attackers with bravery. He must be doing something right as he is now the only goalkeeper in the Premier League who has not conceded a goal.

So the evidence suggests that when the goalkeeper does well, the club prospers.