Good quality attacking midfielders are a rare commodity. The top teams in the Premier League all have at least one such playmaker in the number 10 role who can change the course of the match with a moment of magic. While once upon a time, legends like Dennis Bergkamp, Gianfranco Zola, Eric Cantona and co. used to grace the Premier League pitches and showcase their wonderful talent, today’s crop of attacking midfielders is no less in talent and ability. While players like Di Maria can carry a whole team on their back, there are those like Oscar whose immense work rate makes the whole team tick. In fact, this current crop has more responsibilities than the previous one, with the modern game getting more and more physically taxing.
The most prominent of the AMs playing in the Premier League for the top teams currently are Angel Di Maria, David Silva, Philippe Coutinho, Oscar, Mesut Ozil, Juan Mata and Christian Eriksen. Each of these players is a proven match-winner and can turn the course of the game with a moment of sheer brilliance. With that in mind, we have decided to crunch some numbers and compare the first five players mentioned above, to see what impact they bring to their team’s Premier League challenge this season.
AMs have never been prolific goal scorers, and this chart doesn’t disagree with that part. Given a primary responsibility to create chances, goals scored by attacking midfielders are simply a bonus, especially for Fantasy Premier League players. Di Maria has been a revelation since coming to the Premier League having played a crucial part in Real Madrid’s Champions League success. And it is no surprise that he is joint-top of the goals scored section being the sole shining star in a forlorn Manchester United outfit struggling for fitness and form. Oscar too has been scoring at a similar rate of a goal in just under every three games. That probably tells one of the impacts the Brazilian is having for the table-toppers this season. Without Oscar, Chelsea have looked tame, to put it simply. He may not be scoring by the dozen like Costa or assisting every now and then like Fabregas, but he is the glue that keeps the team stuck together.
Manchester City’s chief playmaker, David Silva has a handsome goal return of 0.24 in every ninety minutes that he has played. More credited with keeping City’s free flowing attack going, Silva also has the knack of scoring at crucial junctures which is a plus. City’s attack has looked shaky since Silva has been out with injury and it is testament to the Spaniard’s brilliance that he is missed in the team that boasts of Aguero, Toure, Nasri and Jovetic. Coutinho, like Oscar, is a rare Brazilian playmaker who doesn’t only rely on dribbling and trickery to get the job done. He has tremendous vision and can take on any player on his day. He was crucial in keeping Liverpool’s attack going when they had the famous three pronged forward line-up of Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling. Mesut Ozil on the other hand was a seemingly perfect fit for Arsenal when he was brought in. But injuries and poor form have troubled his season so far, with a recent injury ruling him out till January. Both Coutinho and Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil have a similar return of 0.17 goals per ninety minutes.
Intricate passing and creating chances is where AMs earn their bread. A closer look at the charts for the two metrics show clearly the difference in the style of play of the players. The all-action Di Maria, whose numbers are slightly inflated due to playing for a poorer team, leads the other players. Behind him are the stylish, gifted magicians David Silva and Mesut Ozil, who can carve open defences like a hot knife through butter with a through pass. Both have healthy numbers that befit their playing style.
Both Oscar and Coutinho are some way off the pack in these numbers. It is mainly because they have a different responsibility in their sides. While Oscar can track back well and tackle, make interceptions and perform other key defensive actions, Coutinho is charged with carrying the ball into the attack. When Suarez led the line, it would be very fluid with the four forwards, but with the more static Balotelli, Coutinho has to do more of the dirty work of being the water carrier, ie- bringing the ball out from defence to attack, much like his compatriot. Coutinho, signed for around £8.5M from a struggling Inter Milan, has proved to be an absolute bargain and has already paid his fee back with the sheer quality of his performances.
As said above, Oscar and Coutinho are different to the rest of the pack. Coutinho brings a drive to Liverpool’s play and takes on many players while bringing the ball through the center. Stationed on the wings often, Di Maria and Ozil too run into more defenders than they usually do while playing in the number ten role. That leads to an upward bump on their numbers as well. Oscar is heralded to be a Mourinho-player and a Mourinho-player he is in every sense. Recently rewarded with a new five-year deal, the Brazilian not only plays an important part in the forward zones, but also defends with his heart out. He can score, pass and tackle with aplomb. There are three levels of Oscar and when on form, he is a treat to watch.
Squawka’s scores are an interesting metric that come in handy while comparing players. For this lot, Angel Di Maria leads the total score and the attack score. Since arriving from Real, he has shown various glimpses of what he is, the Premier League’s best player. He needs to be more consistent with his end product though. Much maligned Ozil stands second, surprisingly, but a look at his attack score tells that the total score isn’t boosted by his attacking contributions but by his passing and possession retention. Oscar and Silva remain pretty much constant in their scores while Coutinho shows a huge upward boost from the total to the attack score. His total score is probably suppressed by the fact that his defensive contributions do not amount to much.
So that was how the numbers for the best AMs in the Premier League currently look. Impressive on a whole, but none are well-rounded. Comparable to the legends of the previous generation? Yes and no. They lack the special chemical X that set their predecessors apart in an attacking sense, but are just as talented once you factor in the changes that have occurred in the game since. So what do you think? Can they be the Zolas, Bergkamps and the Cantonas of the present day in terms of importance to the club?
