Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Stoke City and Crystal Palace stars feature plus more.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City all strengthened their positions at the top of the Premier League this past weekend while Liverpool and Manchester United dropped points in the race for a top four place.
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There were some stand out midfield performances, which setup important wins for Premier League sides and we’ve taken a look at the best performers across five key statistical areas relating to midfield.
Goals
| Player | Club | Pos | Goals | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yohan Cabaye | Newcastle | MF | 2 | 1 | 90 |
| Santiago Cazorla | Arsenal | MF | 2 | 1 | 90 |
| Steven Gerrard | Liverpool | MF | 1 | 1 | 90 |
| Adam Johnson | Sunderland | MF | 1 | 1 | 90 |
| Jesús Navas | Man City | MF | 1 | 1 | 82 |
Goal coring midfielders are worth their weight in gold because they take a lot of pressure away from the attack. Yohan Cabaye of Newcastle and Santi Cazorla of Arsenal stepped up when their sides needed a big performance and they both showed great composure and experience in front of goal.
Tackles Won
| Player | Club | Pos | Won Tackle | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Taylor | West Ham | MF | 5 | 1 | 90 |
| Mousa Dembélé | Spurs | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Craig Gardner | Sunderland | MF | 4 | 1 | 28 |
| Yohan Cabaye | Newcastle | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
| Jordan Henderson | Liverpool | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
Breaking up the play is key for several midfielders, as they look to stop the opposition getting on top. The duel between Taylor and Cabaye during the West Ham against Newcastle one was great to watch as Taylor got stuck in with more tackles than anyone else while Cabaye tried to break up West Ham’s fluency to stop them building momentum which would have threatened Newcastle’s lead.
Accurate Passes
| Player | Club | Pos | Accurate Pass | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Wilshere | Arsenal | MF | 96 | 1 | 90 |
| Jack Cork | Southampton | MF | 87 | 1 | 90 |
| Mathieu Flamini | Arsenal | MF | 83 | 1 | 90 |
| Mesut Özil | Arsenal | MF | 82 | 1 | 86 |
| Santiago Cazorla | Arsenal | MF | 80 | 1 | 90 |
Four Arsenal players in the top five tells the story of their game against Fulham. They had plenty of possession and used the ball well, as Cazorla’s goals eventually helped the Gunners to a very important win.
Accurate Crosses
| Player | Club | Pos | Accurate Cross | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Snodgrass | Norwich | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Charlie Adam | Stoke | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
| Oussama Assaidi | Stoke | MF | 3 | 1 | 72 |
| Santiago Cazorla | Arsenal | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
| Ahmed Elmohamady | Hull | MF | 3 | 1 | 90 |
The two Stoke names on this list are worth focusing on because although the side lost at Crystal Palace, Adam and Assaidi both showed great precision to deliver the ball to teammates from difficult areas. Stoke are not a side that always play slick, passing football and crossing the ball for their forwards and attacking runners from midfield is one of their main tactics.
Dribble Contests Won
| Player | Club | Pos | Won Contest | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Noone | Cardiff | MF | 8 | 1 | 90 |
| Yannick Bolasie | Crystal Palace | MF | 6 | 1 | 86 |
| Santiago Cazorla | Arsenal | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Mousa Dembélé | Spurs | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
| Yaya Touré | Man City | MF | 4 | 1 | 90 |
Midfielders who can dribble effectively are valuable because they put the opposition defence on the back foot. Bolasie deserves a mention because Palace have been under a lot of pressure in recent weeks to get results and he took the game to Stoke City effectively, pushing their midfield and defensive heavyweights back.
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
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