Just who are the top-flight midfielders who have attempted the most amount of passes per game so far this season? Well, we will reveal their identity here …
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10) Lucas Leiva (Liverpool) – 60.8 average passes per game (APPG)
The Reds’ Brazilian water carrier is one of head coach Brendan Rodgers’s most important players at the moment, with the experienced holding midfielder’s main job being to sit in front of his back four, break up opposition attacks and then find his own team-mates with the ball.
9) Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) – 61 APPG
The Merseyside giants’ inspirational skipper has been asked to take on a new role by boss Brendan Rodgers at Anfield this season as the midfielder’s years slowly start to catch up with him.
And with the England international now sitting far deeper, at times even playing as an auxiliary centre back, Gerrard has been asked to start off far more attacks from inside his own half than he would normally be required to do.
8) Mike Arteta (Arsenal) – 63.5 APPG
No surprises really to see the name of the north London club’s Spanish pass master here in this top 10, with the playmaker renowned in the game for the number of passes that he distributes to team-mates during a game,.
And even though the former Everton favourite has perhaps not been at his very best for the Gunners so far in this campaign, the Basque is still featuring prominently here as one of the Premier League’s most distributable midfielders.
7) Jonathan De Guzman (Swansea City) – 64.4 APPG
Maybe a surprise entry in the top 10 for some, but not for anyone who follows the South Wales outfit though on a regular basis.
The highly rated young Netherlands international arrived at the Liberty stadium from La Liga outfit Villarreal three years ago with a reputation as being one of the best passers of a ball in Spain, and nothing the midfield creator has done in the intervening period will have altered that view, as these stats prove.
6) Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) – 65.8 APPG
The brilliant German attacker was signed by the north London club from La Liga giants Real Madrid on transfer deadline day last September for a club-record fee of £42.4m, with the playmaker arriving at the Emirates with the reputation as being the King of the Assists from his productive time spent with los Blancos.
And part of the explanation for the player’s ability to create so many goals for his team-mates is the amount of passes that Ozil attempts per game, with most of them also finding a colleague, and usually in a dangerous position too.
5) Michael Carrick (Manchester United) – 69.6 APPG
How the Premier League champions missed the presence of the experienced and ice-cool England international in the centre of the park while he was on the sidelines recently nursing an Achilles’ tendon problem.
And that sis because Carrick is so good and doing the unglamorous and often unseen work in midfield, including the vastly under-rated skill of being able to pass the ball to a team-mate, which the player attempts on average almost 70 times per Premier League match.
4) Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) – 70.1 APPG
What a season the Welshman is having for the high-flying Gunners, with the attacking midfielder’s mountain full of goals from the centre of the field really catching everyone’s eye.
However, there is another aspect of the player’s play so far in this campaign that should also not go unnoticed, and that is Ramsey’s excellent passing abilities, a skill that really makes the youngster the complete, all-round midfield package.
3) Gareth Barry (Everton) – 70.9 APPG
New Toffees head coach Roberto Martinez pulled off a major transfer coup last summer in persuading the experienced Manchester City holding midfielder to swap Eastlands for Goodison Park on a season-long loan this campaign, with the results there for everyone to see.
And one thing that a defensive midfielder needs to have in his game is the ability to be able to just keep the game simple at all times, which most ofr the time includes just laying the ball off a team-mate five yards away, something Barry has attempted on average over 70 times in every Premier League contest so far this season for the Merseysiders.
2) David Silva (Manchester City) – 71 APPG
The diminutive Spain playmaker has been just a joy to watch for the Blues this campaign, with Silva at the heart of everything that is good about Manuel Pellegrini’s slick outfit.
And that is because the midfield creator is the king of one-touch football, with Silva passing the ball an incredible 71 times on average in every top-flight fixture this season for the north-west giants, which takes quite so doing!
1) Yaya Toure (Manchester City) – 72.8 APPG
Again, anyone who has watched this season’s Premier League will not be surprised to see the name of the giant Ivory Coast international at the head of this list, with Toure having been a beast in the centre of the park for Manuel Pellegrini’s impressive unit.
And with an average of 72.8 passes per game attempted by the marauding playmaker for the Blues in the top flight to date, then you can understand why the player has been the outstanding midfielder in the Premier League in this campaign.