The Premier League boasts some of the most talented footballers in the world, but are the teams in the English top flight somewhat imbalanced?
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Former Sunderland assistant manager Zeljko Petrovic certainly thought so, and back in 2010 he claimed that without their three best players, every Premier League team would be hopeless.
“Every team has just three good players,” he said. (SOURCE)
“If you take those players out of the teams then there are only players left who would not be playing in the bottom team in Holland.”
But is he right?
Check out this list courtesy of FourFourTwo and see how your team would fare:
Arsenal
Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Özil, and Santi Cazorla
The Gunners are known for their free-flowing, attractive, and attack-minded style of football – a style that is epitomised by these three players.
They are well stocked in attacking midfielders and creative forwards however, so while they would undoubtedly miss this talented trio, they would still be a formidable side.
With the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud, and Theo Walcott, the North London side would still have plenty of quality.
Aston Villa
Christian Benteke, Ron Vlaar, and Alan Hutton
Villa’s saving grace this season has been their defence, and without the likes of Vlaar and Hutton they surely would have suffered.
Their Belgian target man Christian Benteke hasn’t enjoyed his best form, but has still been important to their success. He has been reignited under Tim Sherwood, and looks like he will be integral to the Villains as they look to avoid relegation.
They aren’t exactly setting the league alight this season, but it’s hard to see them doing much worse with or without these three.
Burnley
Jason Shackell, Kieran Trippier, and Danny Ings
The key to Burnley’s (albeit minor) success this season has been their team unity, and under the management of Sean Dyche they have achieved great things with very limited resources.
Shackell and Trippier are, of course, fantastic players, but you certainly wouldn’t call them irreplaceable. Ings on the other hand, would be a huge loss for the Clarets, and his impressive goalscoring form this season has been vital as they attempt to avoid relegation.
Chelsea
John Terry, Eden Hazard, and Diego Costa
Chelsea looked unstoppable at the start of the season, with many handing them the title with just a handful of games gone. Diego Costa was in fine form following his summer switch, but both he and the Blues have slowed down significantly as of late. Their other striking options are certainly a step down, and they surely would have struggled without Costa’s goals.
Hazard and Terry would also be sorely missed, but Chelsea are well stocked with top class centre-backs and talented wide-men.
Crystal Palace
Scott Dann, Mile Jedinak, and Yannick Bolasie
The Eagles have been fantastic since Alan Pardew took over, and after seemingly being in danger of relegation, already look to have secured their status as a Premier League side for another season.
They have had to deal with injuries and absences, and have not relied too heavily on one or two players. The likes of Wilfried Zaha, James McArthur, and Glenn Murray have been superb, and Palace don’t look like they would be significantly diminished by the loss of a few players.
Everton
John Stones, James McCarthy, and Romelu Lukaku
Everton have certainly been sub-standard this season, and have really struggled in the Premier League.
One of their main issues is arguably their lack of depth, so even though players like Lukaku haven’t been as influential as they were last season, the Toffees would still struggle without them.
Players like Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin, and Leon Osman are arguably past their best, so the likes of McCarthy and Stones have become all the more important.
While Roberto Martinez would still have a handful of top quality players at his disposal, you have to think they would significantly weakened by the loss of this trio.
Hull
James Chester, Tom Huddlestone, and Nikica Jelavic
Steve Bruce’s side have arguably already proven that they can cope without these three, as all have experienced injuries and suspensions at one point or another during the season.
More was expected of Hull this season, and while they haven’t been terrible, more is certainly required from their top players.
Leicester
Esteban Cambiasso, Riyad Mahrez, and Andrej Kramaric
Leicester have surprised many with their performances this season, but not by their position in the table.
It’s hard to see them doing much worse, so the loss of these three players arguably wouldn’t have much of an impact.
Liverpool
Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho, and Jordan Henderson
The Merseyside club have had a number of standout players this season, but Sterling, Coutinho, and Henderson have definitely been a cut above the rest.
With Daniel Sturridge injured, Sterling has been made into a makeshift forward. Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert, and Fabio Borini just weren’t cutting it, which shows just how important the young Englishman has become.
Henderson and Coutinho have gone a long way towards replacing the ageing Steven Gerrard, and without them there is no telling how their season would have gone.
Manchester City
Yaya Toure, David Silva, and Sergio Aguero
These three players are the type that can win a game on their own, they are truly world class, and are capable of moments of absolute genius.
Without one, or even two of them, the Citizens can manage, but without all three it’s hard to see the cash rich club retaining their high levels of success.
Manchester United
David de Gea, Angel Di Maria, and Wayne Rooney
Di Maria has been extremely erratic this season, and United would certainly have been fine without him.
Rooney has been far more important, and with the poor form of Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie the captain has stepped up to lead from the front.
Easily the most important of the three is David de Gea however, who has single handedly kept United in contention for the top four, and is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world right now.
Newcastle United
Daryl Janmaat, Jack Colback, and Papiss Cisse
Newcastle have been up and down this season, more so since the departure of Alan Pardew. Different players have proved their importance at different times in the season, so it’s difficult to see them struggling without these three.
Queens Park Rangers
Rob Green, Leroy Fer, and Charlie Austin
Green and Fer have popped up with some important performances this season, but they look to be easily replaceable.
Austin on the other hand is one of the in form strikers in the Premier League at the moment, and his 15 league goals in an underperforming QPR side just highlights how fantastic he has been.
It’s hard to see the London side winning more than a handful of games without him, and they surely would have been relegated before now if Austin was absent.
Southampton
Toby Alderweireld, Ryan Bertrand, and Morgan Schneiderlin
Ronald Koeman has really managed to get the best out of the Saints this season, despite many tipping them for relegation after a mass exodus last summer.
The South Coast club arguably haven’t had standout players this season, as the entire team have been performing out of their skins. Koeman could still call on the likes of Nathaniel Clyne, Dusan Tadic, Sadio Mane, Graziano Pelle, and Fraser Forster (prior to his unfortunate injury) if these three were missing, so it’s hard to see them struggling.
The only issue they might have is that their squad depth isn’t the greatest, so missing any of their starting XI would be a blow.
Stoke
Asmir Begovic, Ryan Shawcross, and Steven N’Zonzi
Stoke haven’t been as defensively solid as they have been in the past, but when they have kept their opponents out it has been down to these three.
They aren’t known for their goalscoring prowess, so removing the defensive backbone of the team would probably prove disastrous.
Sunderland
John O’Shea, Lee Cattermole, and Seb Larsson
The Black Cats have been shocking this season, and are lucky to not already be in the relegation zone.
None of these three have been particularly decent, so without them they probably wouldn’t be doing much worse.
Swansea City
Ashley Williams, Ki Sung-Yueng, and Gylfi Sigurdsson
These three are currently Swansea’s most important stars, although Wilfried Bony would have been a much bigger miss had he left the club during the summer rather than in January.
They have an excellent balance throughout the team however, and would likely survive without Williams, Ki, or the recently returned Sigurdsson.
Tottenham
Hugo Lloris, Christian Eriksen, and Harry Kane
Arguably the easiest three to pick, this trio have been superb for Spurs this season.
Lloris is arguably the best keeper in the league behind David de Gea, and has been hugely important to Tottenham’s success.
Eriksen has popped up with a number of vital last minute goals, and has been influential in their midfield.
Kane has just been on another level, and there is no telling where Spurs would be without him. He is in fine goalscoring form, and has been winning games on his own this season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side would surely be lounging in mid table mediocrity without these three.
West Bromwich Albion
Joloen Lescott, Darren Fletcher, and Saido Berahino
The Baggies’ defensive stability since the return of Tony Pulis has been hugely important, and is likely to be the thing that keeps them up this season.
Lescott and Fletcher have been hugely important in that matter, and will no doubt continue to prove so as we head into the tail end of the season.
The club arguably wouldn’t have been in the position they were without the goals of Berahino however, who was instrumental in their early season success.
West Ham
Adrian, Winston Reid, and Stewart Downing
Sam Allardyce has had to deal with a lot this season, and the club has been plagued by injuries. They have therefore had to rely on a host of different players, and would be unlikely to miss these three too much.
Downing was superb at the start of the season, but he has barely contributed in the latter stages of the campaign.
The club obviously wouldn’t have enjoyed the fantastic form they did at the start of the season without these three, but they would surely have still managed Premier League survival.
How would things look?
FourFourTwo believe this is how the Premier League table would look if each team were stripped of their three best players:
1. Arsenal
2. Chelsea
3. Southampton
4. Liverpool
5. Man City
6. Man United
7. Swansea
8. Crystal Palace
9. Stoke
10. Tottenham
11. West Brom
12. West Ham
13. Newcastle
14. Everton
15. Aston Villa
16. Sunderland
17. Leicester
18. Hull
19. Burnley
20. QPR
What do you think?