Former Manchester United midfielders Roy Keane and Paul Scholes have disagreed who the best in the league is, with the former picking an Arsenal man “every day of the week.”
Some Premier League midfielders are having phenomenal seasons. The likes of Sandro Tonali, Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice have strung together some phenomenal performances this term.
Caicedo’s latest contribution to Chelsea saw him hammer a ball into the top corner in a 2-1 win against then-leaders Liverpool.
Rice, meanwhile, has been directly involved in four league goals this season, and Tonali has assisted once but has become a vital cog in the Newcastle side.
For former United midfielder Scholes, he’s currently the best in the league.
He said: “I still don’t class Moises Caicedo as an all-round midfield player. I know he scored a great goal and was brilliant the other day.
“Alexis Mac Allister was absolutely brilliant last season, he controlled a lot of games and I think Liverpool are missing that at the moment. I love Sandro Tonali as well. He’s been brilliant. Very good. I would probably choose Tonali at this point.”
Scholes’ former midfield partner, Keane, is in disagreement with him, though.
He said on Stick To Football: “I’d go with Rice every day of the week. That package. He’s got a little bit extra on all the other parts on Caicedo. I’d go with Rice.”
Rice has indeed had the most joy going forwards this season, and since his move to Arsenal in 2023 he’s become a very well-rounded midfielder.
He and Caicedo cost Arsenal and Chelsea, respectively, north of £100million each, but both are showing they were worthy of having such large sums dropped on them.
One man is indeed the best in the division using F365’s definitive Premier League midfielder ranking, but he’s not alone on that perch.
We have come up with a points system, using various metrics such as goals, assists, progressive carries, pass completion, tackles and interceptions and so on.
The man who comes out on top using that system is Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch, alongside Caicedo.
The Liverpool man has the best ranking on shot-creating actions and progressive carrying distance, but ranks high in a number of other metrics, despite not being the very best in each of them.
That suggests he is the most well-rounded. You can read the article below.
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