The role of attacking midfielders also know as playmakers are more important than ever! Think about the importance of Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, and Martin Odegaard to their team; vital. They create the plays, links the defense and midfield with their goal scorers. You cannot just expect their teams to play the same without them in the team.
Today, we try to answer the question “who’s the best attacking midfielder in the English Premier League” based on 2022/23 season performance and data.
A. Statistics Comparison of Bruno vs. KDB vs. Odegaard
Source: WhoScored.com
- Looking across the statistics from WhoScore, KDB is the best across the three based on several key reasons; (1) superior WhoScored ratings, (2) incredible assists record and (3) his team winning the Premier League at the end.
- However, cases can be made for Martin Odegaard based on some reasons; (1) his number of apps being much higher than KDB, (2) his goals (15 goals! for an AM is incredible), and (3) his high shots per game and pass success %. If Arsenal had won the league, we will all be picking him as the best CAM in the league.
- Thirdly, bad news for United fans, even though we all know how good Bruno is and how crucial he is to Manchester United, based on stats alone, he’s just not up to his two peers. We can all partly blame Manchester United attackers for not converting chances created by Bruno, maybe.
Winner based on Statistics: Kevin De Bruyne (KDB)
B. Importance To Their Team
- Here, we don’t really have much statistics around this. We can all probably use our general consensus to arrive at a conclusion. Let’s imagine, take out this player and see how their team would play.
- Bruno: Take Bruno out and Manchester United won’t be able to create chances! He’s literally the creative heart beat of this Manchester United team and no one really came close. For this reason alone, we think he’s the clear winner if we look at importance to the team.
- Martin Odegaard: Odegaard came pretty close, being the captain of this young Arsenal team. However, Arsenal are well prepared and have signed Fabio Viera who can do a shift if Odegaard is not available. Therefore, we pick Odegaard second based on this factor.
- KDB: This Manchester City team is so well balanced that it does not depend on one person much. Credit to Pep and the management team, KDB is not as vital to the team as before and his creative burden is being shared by Jack Grealish and Phil Foden.
Winner based on Importance to Team: Bruno Fernandes
C. Team Success
- Also, there’s a clear winner here! Manchester City finished this season as the treble winner and therefore, Kevin De Bruyne topped the list above his peers based on team success. We picked Bruno second due to Manchester United’s Carabao Cup winning campaign. It’s unlucky for Martin Odegaard – despite his consistency and leadership, Arsenal missed out on trophies this season.
Winner based on Team Success: Kevin De Bruyne (KDB)
Conclusion: Our Verdict
We’ve a clear winner here! KDB is the best attacking midfielder in the Premier League. We believe that it’s hard to argue against this after Manchester City’s treble winning campaign. Bruno did all he could but he will need to hope Manchester United sign a prolific striker this season to come closer to KDB. Unlucky for Odegaard, he’ll be there if Arsenal continues their improvement this season.
And that’s all guys! Hope you enjoy our breakdown and we’ll come back with more interesting topics in the future.