The World Cup is over, the pre-season friendlies have started and the anticipation for the new season has well and truly begun. Just under a month is left until our beloved Premier League is back in full flow again, showcasing the talents of many of the World’s best players. This includes some of the most creative footballers available and this piece will look at which playmakers are likely to have an impact for their clubs in this upcoming season. The players mentioned will be Eden Hazard of Chelsea, David Silva for Man City, Liverpool’s Coutinho and Arsenal’s World Cup winner Mesut Ozil.
Let’s start off with David Silva who was part of the Man City team who won the title after a pulsating end to the season. Overall, Silva ended the season with a solid nine assists from his 82 chances created. The Spanish international will hope to banish memories of his team’s early World Cup exit and continue his good form from last season in the league. Silva averaged just over three chances per game, one every 25 minutes to be exact, with his 11 clear cut chances created coming once every 198 minutes.
Coutinho was impressive during his first full season with the Reds but will be keen to work on parts of his game which need to be improved such as his shooting and goal conversion rates. Overall the Brazilian managed seven assists last season from 65 chances created, coming in at a rate of one every 36 minutes. He also managed 13 clear cut opportunities for his team mates with one on average every two games. Coutinho has been known to enjoy a dribble or two and completed over half of his 102 dribbles successfully.
Hazard was excellent in his own right last season and contributed with seven assists in 32 starts. The Belgian international created a mammoth 92 chances for his team mates, indicating how much Chelsea depend on him in terms of creativity. That gives him an average of a chance created every 31 minutes, but surprisingly he only created nine clear cut chances over the season, an area which he could look to improve next season. Hazard’s forte is undoubtedly his ability to take on his man and after an incredible 210 attempted dribbles, being successful 132 times.
Ozil will come back into the Arsenal squad in joyous mood after a topsy-turvy campaign last season. His form was excellent during the early part of the season, curtailed somewhat towards the end but finished with both the FA Cup and World Cup trophies to his name, a successful season to say the least. Last season, Ozil managed 76 chances with nine assists to his name. With a chance created every 28 minutes, it gives him an average of nearly four every game, which players like new signing Sanchez will look to thrive upon this season. Ozil was successful in exactly half of his dribbles and racked up an impressive 35% accuracy rate for his crossing. Consistency will be key for Ozil and Arsenal if they are to challenge again for the title.
All players are vital for their clubs and it will be interesting to see who performs well on a consistent basis over the course of the season because as we all know, the season is a marathon and not a sprint.
