Lawrence Ati Zigi has been in the spotlight recently due to a graphic highlighting his concession of 300 goals in 202 appearances for St. Gallen.

However, this statistic alone does not tell the full story. Goalkeeping is a complex role that requires context and nuance when evaluating performance.

Consider the example of England and Everton's Jordan Pickford, who has conceded 398 goals in 281 appearances. 

While this might seem alarming, it overlooks crucial factors such as team performance, shots faced, and saves made. 

For instance, a goalkeeper who concedes three goals from three shots is vastly different from one who concedes 10 from 100.

That’s how goalkeeping statistics work; probing deeper into statistics only reveals more about the real impact.

Now, back to Ati Zigi. Make no mistake: the primary responsibility of the goalkeeper is to prevent the opposing team from scoring.

But goalkeepers aren’t magicians and can’t stop everything that comes their way, so coaches devise defensive structures to prevent the opposition from creating clear-cut chances.

When those structures aren’t strong enough, you have something along the lines of the Swiss Super League.

The Swiss top flight is one of the highest-scoring leagues in Europe. This season, it is averaging 2.92 goals per game.

St. Gallen have finished in the top seven of either the 10-12 team league in the past 10 years, making them a mid-table club at best.

Therefore, in 28-year-old Ati Zigi's case, he operates in the Swiss Super League, one of Europe's highest-scoring leagues and his team, St. Gallen, isn’t operating at the highest level domestically.

Hence, expectations should be measured because you don’t expect a mid-table club in any league to have the best defensive record.

Despite these challenges, Ati Zigi has shown impressive form. Over five years, he has faced 786 shots and saved 538, achieving a save percentage of 68.2% in the league.

Once again, goalkeepers are not magicians and cannot save everything, but there’s a way to measure if these saves are actually quality saves.

For instance, you cannot blame a goalkeeper if he comes up against two attackers and one squares it to the other to finish it into an empty net. However, you would expect a goalkeeper to save a feeble shot right at him.

That’s where Expected Goals on Target (xGOT) comes in. This is a metric that measures the quality of shots on target a goalkeeper faces.

Since 2020, the Ghanaian goalkeeper has prevented a cumulative 6.77 goals, as measured by Expected Goals on Target (xGOT), indicating a net positive impact.

If goalkeepers are supposed to prevent opponents from scoring, then why should a goalkeeper who has prevented 6.77 goals be seen in a bad light?

His strengths extend beyond shot-stopping, including sweeping, high claims, and playing from the back. 

In the 2022/23 season, Ati Zigi was recognised for his standout performances for St. Gallen and was named the goalkeeper of the season. In that season, he conceded 47 goals in 33 matches, once again proving that goals conceded do not tell the full story.

Just this season, you can either choose to see Ati Zigi as the goalkeeper who has conceded 33 goals in 25 matches, or you can see him as the goalkeeper with 81 saves from 114 shots faced and who has prevented 5.90 goals - the highest in the Swiss league.

Your perception of Lawrence Ati Zigi will depend on the lens used.

The Black Star Watch is a compelling weekly column written by Owuraku Ampofo, a seasoned sports journalist with over five years of experience reporting on Ghanaian players. This column aims to uncover patterns, address pressing questions, and illuminate trending topics surrounding Ghanaian footballers.