The players giving Arsenal hope for a better midfield than Chelsea and City

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While some think Manchester City or Chelsea possess the best midfield in England, there is a strong case for Arsenal, and an unsung hero in Liverpool’s ranks.

Earlier this week I wrote an article comparing Chelsea’s midfield to Manchester City’s. My reason for doing so was the arrival of Nemanja Matic at Stamford Bridge, a player who has the potential to make Jose Mourinho’s midfield every bit as powerful as Manuel Pellegrini’s.

The analysis considered six main factors: goals, assists, interceptions won, tackles made, accurate passes and ball recovery. And it was enlightening in the fact that Chelsea’s Ramires came out on top in more than one category, raising the question as to whether partnering him with Matic would automatically make the Blues from London as formidable as the Blues from Manchester.

But having published my story, I was asked why I did not include Arsenal in the analysis; after all, they are the current Premier League leaders.

Although the aim of my story was to focus solely on City versus Chelsea, the reader had a point. If I was going to look at arguably the best midfields in the country, surely I would have to take into account the men currently sitting top of the pile.

So here I am redressing the balance, considering the midfield players from all the teams in the current top four. And it makes for interesting reading.

Below is a breakdown of the four teams, starting with the Gunners.

It is no surprise that Aaron Ramsey leads the way with goals scored, but he has also made the most tackles, the most accurate passes and has recovered the ball more than any of his midfield teammates.

While Mesut Ozil is hailed as the new jewel in the crown at the Emirates Stadium, it is the Welshman who outdoes him in practically every statistic above.

While I analysed City’s midfield in my last piece, it is worth reminding people of Fernandinho’s impressive amount of interceptions – 46 in total and a stat bettered only by Lucas Leiva of Liverpool in the midfields of any of the clubs considered here.

Yaya Toure – regarded by many as the best midfielder in the country – has recovered the ball 125 times, and yet there is one man who outdoes him. You guessed it, Ramsey. Although the Ivorian does have the last laugh when it comes to accurate passes.

I did not include Eden Hazard in my last piece as I see him more as a forward, but he is in the stats above and has scored more goals and provided more assists for the Blues than any of the others listed.

Although he is outshone by teammate Ramires when it comes to both accurate passes and ball recovery.

And finally we come to Liverpool, for whom I have already noted that Lucas has won the most interceptions of any player considered in this piece. He is also behind only Toure and Ramsey when it comes to accurate passes (just 20 less than the Welshman).

He also matches Toure for ball recovery, with only Ramires and Ramsey outdoing him so far.

So what does all this tell us? It tells us that despite many believing it is a straight fight between Chelsea and Manchester City for the best midfield in the country, there are players at both Arsenal and Liverpool who should not be lost in that debate. In fact when it comes to interceptions won – a factor every bit as important for a midfielder as scoring and creating – Arsenal possess two of the top four in Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini.

Statistics can tell you anything you want them to, but Arsenal are top for a reason. And perhaps the numbers above give us an insight into why.

image: © wonker