Blackburn Rovers, Wigan Athletic, Fulham, Liverpool and Newcastle United players feature in the top five. Who makes the top 25?
Creativity and wing play is seen by many as the sign of an exciting side, as well as being effective in unlocking defences.
For a player to be good at dribbling the ball alone is not good enough, we all remember park footballers who refused to pass the ball, and where are they now?
The best players know when to pass, and when to take on an opponent. If they make the wrong choice, more often than not they will not be successful.
So that said, who are the most effective dribblers in the Premier League?
Here are the top 25, as judged on the number of successful dribbles completed per game, in stats provided by Opta.
1) Junior Hoilett – Blackburn – 2.8
2) Victor Moses – Wigan – 2.6
3) Luis Suarez – Liverpool – 2.2
4) Moussa Dembele – Fulham – 2.2
5) Hatem Ben Arfa – Newcastle – 2
6) Nathan Dyer – Swansea – 2
7) Nani – Manchester United – 1.9
8) Scott Sinclair – Swansea – 1.9
9) Gareth Bale – Tottenham – 1.8
10) Stephane Sessegnon – Sunderland – 1.8
11) Sergio Aguero – Manchester City – 1.6
12) Jose Enrique – Liverpool – 1.6
13) Luka Modric – Totenham – 1.6
14) Ramires – Chelsea – 1.6
15) Mark Davies – Bolton – 1.4
16) Glen Johnson – Liverpool – 1.4
17) Patrice Evra – Manchester United – 1.4
18) Gervinho – Arsenal – 1.4
19) Antonio Valencia – Manchester United – 1.3
20) Mohammed Diame – Wigan- 1.3
21) James McClean – Sunderland – 1.3
22) Adel Taarabt – QPR – 1.2
23) Charles N’Zogbia – Aston Villa – 1.2
24) James Morrison – West Brom – 1.2
25) Robin van Persie – 1.2
Our analysis: Given the impressive form of Victor Moses of late it is no surprise to see him feature so highly, although many would not have predicted Junior Hoilett to be a name at the very top of the list. Luis Suarez is by far the highest striker, the only one to feature in the top 25 apart from Aguero and Van Persie, highlighting one of the bet facets of his game. Liverpool have the top dribbling defenders on the list, with both full-backs in the top 25, but this clearly matters little if the end product is not there on a consistent basis. If Johnson and Enrique could develop their crossing, then they would much improve as players and Liverpool would benefit as a result. Interestingly Liverpool have no top performing wingers, and after being linked with Moses and Hoilett over the past weeks and months, they could clearly bring something new to the club’s wing play
The industrious Ramires features for Chelsea, but he is their only player in the top 25, highlighting their lack of players willing to take a player on successfully, an issue Andre Villas-Boas struggled with, and the reason for Roberto di Matteo converting back to an effective but more direct style.
Swansea’s Dyer and Sinclair deserve a mention, showing the Welsh side have far more to offer than simply passing it around in clever triangles, a talent for which they have been highly praised.
Hoilett’s presence at the top shows there is no correlation between league position and the most effective players in a particular technicality of the game, but he will be hoping to put his talents to good use against Norwich tomorrow to help Blackburn’s relegation fight, before it is too late.
What do you make of the list- who are you surprised to see missing?
image: © jikatu
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