Wilfried Zaha has been speaking about his style of play at the Crystal Palace training ground, where he admitted he’s trying to change things.
What’s the story?
Well, the Crystal Palace No.11 revealed that he doesn’t see himself as much of a dribbler anymore, despite it being one of his biggest strengths.
Speaking about EA Sports giving him a low dribbling rating on FIFA, Zaha said: “To be honest, I feel like that’s fine because I’m not really much of a dribbler now. I try to be more direct. I don’t mind if they put 85 dribbling because that’s not what I’m trying to be anymore.” (Palace TV)
The Ivory Coast international isn’t lying.
In the 2019/20 campaign, Zaha averaged 4.3 dribbles per game in the Premier League, an increase on his average of 3.4 from the 2018/19 season.
However, the 29-year-old only completed 1.8 dribbles per game last term, and just two per game this season (WhoScored).
Evidently, Zaha is trying to cut dribbling out from his game, but is it worth it? Let’s take a look.
Crystal Palace need Wilfried Zaha to take people on
In our view, Zaha should go back to relentlessly taking people on week in, week out – we feel that was when he was at his best.
In the 2018/19 campaign, the flamboyant winger impressively registered ten goals and ten assists in 34 Premier League appearances.
A lot of those assists came as a result of him beating his man and getting to the byline, or through winning penalties.
So far this season, he has six goals to his name – a respectable tally – but only one assist, so it could be argued that him becoming more direct means he’s no longer creating opportunities for others.
Zaha was one of Europe’s most prolific dribblers – he has a unique talent, one we don’t think he should abandon.
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