Many people generalise a players passing stats and say how good a player is just on the number of passes he has made and how many passes he has completed, but there are many other factors that people do not tend to take into consideration.
With that in mind this comparison not only looks at the general passing statistics but also compares where on the pitch the top 5 passers make their passes (own half of the pitch, attacking half of the pitch and the final third of the pitch), what type of passes the midfielders are making (long balls, through balls, short passes) and how often they make these passes this season.
To begin with we must first find out which 5 midfielders have made the most passes this season.
Top 5 Passing Midfielders This Season
As you can see Mikel Arteta, Yaya Toure, Michael Carrick, Santi Cazorla and Joe Allen have made more passes than any other midfielders this season. Arteta has made a pass every 0.9 minutes this season, Toure has made a pass every 1 minute this season and Carrick, Cazorla and Allen have all made a pass every 1.2 minutes this season.
Arteta has also completed 93.39% of his passes this season, which is 1.31% more of his passes than Allen, 2.65% more than Cazorla, 3.2% more than Carrick and 3.73% more than Toure.
Where On The Pitch Most of Their Passes Are Made
Knowing where on the pitch the midfielders make their passes is important as it is easier to complete a pass in your own half than it is in the final third of the pitch as there is generally less pressure on the players when making passes in their own half.
Mikel Arteta makes a pass in his own half every 2.2 minutes, which is more often than the other top midfield passers. This is compared to Allen who makes a pass in his own half every 2.5 minutes, Carrick (2.7), Toure (2.8) and Cazorla who makes a pass in his own half every 5 minutes.
Yaya Toure and Santi Cazorla are the most accurate passers in their own half as they have found a teammate with 97% of their own half passes this season. This was 1% more than Joe Allen, Mikel Arteta and Michael Carrick, who have all completed 96% of their passes in their own half this season.
Cazorla has made a pass in the attacking half of the pitch every 1.4 minutes this season, which is 0.1 minutes more often than Toure, 0.2 minutes more often than Arteta, 0.7 minutes more often than Carrick and 1 minute more often than Allen. Cazorla has the worst attacking half passing accuracy out the five players though as he has found a teammate with 82% of his passes in the attacking half. This is compared to Toure who has completed 84%, Carrick (85%), Allen (87%) and Arteta who has completed 90% of the passes that he has made in the attacking half.
Cazorla also made a pass in the final third of the pitch more often than the other players, as he made a pass every 2.7 minutes. This was compared to Toure, who made a pass in the final third every 3.2 minutes, Arteta (3.9), Carrick (5.2) and Allen who made a final third pass every 5.6 minutes. Cazorla was also the most accurate in the final third of the pitch, finding a teammate with 84% of his passes. This was 1% better than Allen and Arteta, 6% better than Carrick and 10% better than Toure.
Next Page: What types of passes are these midfielders playing? Direction? Long ball? Through balls?
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Categories: Arsenal (NN), EPL Index Featured Article, EPL Index Statistical Comparisons, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester Utd
Tags: AFC, Allen, Allen Stats, Arteta, Arteta Stats, Carrick, Carrick Stats, Cazorla, Cazorla Stats, EPL, epl opta stats, EPL Stats, LFC, MCFC, MUFC, Opta Stats, Top 5 passers, Top Midfield Passers, top stats, Toure, Toure Stats
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Nice analysis – at first I was going to comment on how some of these players may not have a fair comparison because of the positions they play – Arteta and Cazorla for example are totally different but you’ve mentioned it later in the article so fair enough!
I see that Allen hasn’t played a single through ball according to these stats. What use is a 90% pass completion rate if they are all sideways, backwards or 5 yards forwards?
Simon! If you will look into stat of Barca’s Xavi you’ll see that his preferred pass destination is sideways. To keep the ball is much safer option than to make not prepared through ball.
You might understand if you knew anything about football. Please stop watching it/buying manchester united shirts and find a new hobbie.
Bit harsh! True tho lol coyg
I don’t understand what you’re saying? Are you saying keeping the ball is not a good thing? That is his job is it not? What this analysis doesn’t show is how hard Allen works to win the ball back.
I think your missing the point Simon, its not Allen’s role to play through balls it is his role to keep the play moving, recycle the ball and dictate play! He is doing exactly what is asked of him by Brendan Rogers and he is doinv it well – another thing that the stats dont show is how good Joe Allen is on the ball when under pressure
Simon to play a through ball you kind need to have someone running in an advanced position. Due to his position on the pitch, I think through-balls are left to Gerrard!
Good info. Thank you.
Its interesting to see Cazorla is already a key player for gunners.
I thought it was a bit harsh to compare Allen to these four without mentioning that he is 22 whereas the other four are much more experiences at the ages of 27 and above. Apart from that, good read.
These stats don’t tell you much. Nothing I didn’t know already. Who doesn’t know that Cazorla and Arteta are different players?
Nice post James,
From a fantasy football perspective it is Cazorla who really stands out – especially with your stat about the number of passes in the final third.
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When was this article written? Just curious as to whether Allen’s stats would have improved after an impressive outing vs Norwich.
This was written before the Norwich game Tim