It’s a very good question and, whenever I think of marksmen from the spot in the Premier League era, two names immediately stand out for me – Eric Cantona and Matt Le Tissier.
They seemed to be the benchmark in the early years of the competition with a terrific record and a coolness personified.
Fast forward to more recent times, and Harry Kane and Erling Haaland have shown deadly reliability and, not long before them, Frank Lampard, Yaya Toure, and Leighton Baines were also clinical from 12 yards.
Along with Dimitar Berbatov, Toure is actually one of only two players who were regular penalty takers with a 100-per cent league record from the spot.
And until beginning my research, I didn’t realise that the great Thierry Henry – a world-class talent responsible for so many highlights – actually notched 23 of his 25 spot-kicks for Arsenal in the top-flight.
Believe it or not, Henry never saw a penalty saved but did end up missing the target twice against two of only three Finnish goalkeepers to ever play in the English top-flight (Jussi Jääskeläinen and Antti Niemi).
Three left-backs always struck me as being ultra reliable.
Dennis Irwin (Manchester United) and Julian Dicks (West Ham) – whose mantra always seemed to be to smack the ball as hard as possible – were in that number while, staying with Baines in all competitions, he managed to score 26 penalties, with 20 of those goals coming in the Premier League.
The first time he failed from the spot was in October 2014 when he was denied by Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, ending a run of 14 successfully converted penalties and his 100% record.
His only other miss was against Stoke City in August 2016, but that proved less costly, with the Toffees securing a 1-0 victory.
Danny Murphy netted 18 out of 19 attempts for Liverpool and Fulham, while you may be surprised to hear that during a playing career in which he turned out for Blackburn, Southampton, Everton, Sheffield United and Stoke City, James Beattie rarely missed.
Indeed, he scored 16 out of 17 attempts with his only reverse coming during a 3-1 Everton victory against Charlton Athletic in January 2006.
But forgive me for reminiscing, as I’ve been asked to pick out the top men in the here and now.
So, who are the men you’d put your money on if SBOTOP Premier League 2023 betting odds were offered on such accuracy from the spot?
Well, Callum Wilson has scored 15 of the 16 penalties he has taken for Newcastle, and his flawless record dented by Neil Etheridge of Cardiff City when Wilson was still at Bournemouth.
And then there’s Brentford’s Ivan Toney who scored all 10 of the penalties he’d taken in the top-flight before finally missing one with his 11th attempt in a home defeat to Newcastle last Easter.
He did go on to score a penalty in the same game, later in the first half.
At the risk of forgetting someone, Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Andreas Periera and Willian (Fulham), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) and Jay Rodriguez (Burnley) do seem to be among the men you would trust most of the time in that pressure-cooker environment.
Likewise, talented youngster Cole Palmer has four from the spot for Chelsea so far this term, as shown in their 4-4 draw against Manchester City.
There are plenty to select from, although in percentage terms here are the top five.
With the controversial application of VAR now playing such a part, the chances are there may be more penalties than ever this season.
So far, 42 have been awarded but, given there was a total of 98 last season and we’re far from halfway in the current campaign, it may be that the 2020-21 record of 124 spot-kicks awarded is under threat.
The stats are worth a detailed look.
But whether you place, rifle, fire, blast, dispatch, roll, or chip the ball, who’s your favourite penalty taker and who is the best at making Premier League 2023 highlights?
Let the debate begin.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
