Arsenal, Southampton, Crystal Palace, Liverpool and West Ham United stars all feature.
There’s no shortage of talking points this morning after the first weekend of the new Premier League season.
Manchester United are already chasing several key rivals while the likes of Hull City and Aston Villa will be extremely pleased to start important seasons with three points on the board.
We’ve taken a look at the stats to judge the best midfield performers from the first weekend of games.
Goals
| Team | Pos | Goals | Apps | Mins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Cattermole | Sunderland | MF | 1 | 1 | 90 |
| Sebastian Larsson | Sunderland | MF | 1 | 1 | 90 |
| Aiden McGeady | Everton | MF | 1 | 1 | 85 |
| Aaron Ramsey | Arsenal | MF | 1 | 1 | 90 |
| Gylfi Sigurdsson | Swansea | MF | 1 | 1 | 90 |
Several midfielders all grabbed a goal over the weekend but the name we’re going to focus on is Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey. Ramsey seems to have picked up where he left off last season with a crucial goal against Crystal Palace, which helped the Gunners get off to a good start.
Attempts on Target
| Team | Pos | Ontarget Scoring Att | Apps | Mins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Ince | Hull | MF | 3 | 1 | 82 |
| Raheem Sterling | Liverpool | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
| Stewart Downing | West Ham | MF | 2 | 1 | 90 |
| Aaron Ramsey | Arsenal | MF | 2 | 1 | 90 |
| Morgan Schneiderlin | Southampton | MF | 2 | 1 | 90 |
Ramsey appears again in the attempts on target section but it’s Liverpool star Raheem Sterling and Hull midfielder Tom Ince who were the most impressive. In the same way Ramsey has maintained his form from last season, Sterling seems to have done the same.
Accurate Crosses
| Team | Pos | Accurate Cross | Apps | Mins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stewart Downing | West Ham | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Mark Noble | West Ham | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Joey Barton | QPR | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
| Santiago Cazorla | Arsenal | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
| Sebastian Larsson | Sunderland | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
There is reason for Hammers fans to be optimistic despite the opening day loss to local rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Collectively, they have two players at the top of the accurate crosses section, which suggests they could utilise wide areas consistently throughout the season.
Tackles Won
| Team | Pos | Won Tackle | Apps | Mins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor Wanyama | Southampton | MF | 7 | 1 | 90 |
| Mile Jedinak | Crystal Palace | MF | 6 | 1 | 90 |
| Mikel Arteta | Arsenal | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Alejandro Faurlin | QPR | MF | 4 | 1 | 69 |
| Mark Noble | West Ham | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
It’s not all about attacking play and there were some standout defensive performers from midfielders this past weekend. Southampton star Victor Wanyama made more successful tackles than any other midfielder, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to prevent his side from tasting defeat at Anfield.
Interceptions Won
| Team | Pos | Interception Won | Apps | Mins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Colback | Newcastle | MF | 5 | 1 | 90 |
| Mile Jedinak | Crystal Palace | MF | 5 | 1 | 90 |
| Etienne Capoue | Spurs | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Cheikhou Kouyaté | West Ham | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Youssuf Mulumbu | West Brom | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
Mile Jedinak deserves a mention because he was superb for Crystal Palace in terms of breaking up the play against Arsenal. The Australian was superb in this area last season and Palace will need him to be consistent if they’re going to have a successful campaign this time round.
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