SOMEHOW three Premier League matchweeks and the FA Cup final are all being squeezed into the next nine days. How very 2020-21. The stars will get their plaudits and the glamour coaches will get new honours added to their Wikipedia page by whoever updates Wikipedia pages. But what about the unsung players? Who’s done the business under the radar? Can players actually be unsung if they play in the biggest domestic league in the world? Well maybe. And if so, these are the pick of the bunch:
Goalkeeper
At the end of 2019-20 the correct answer here was Arsenal’s stand-in goalkeeper Emi Martinez, who had a post-lockdown summer agility cameo for the north London club and earned himself a big move to Aston Villa, where he has been arguably the best busiest goalkeeper in the league in 2020-21. Using expected goals to see which keepers have prevented most goals above the average, Martinez is first on 5.1 but only narrowly behind him is Fulham’s Alphonse Areola on 5.0. Goalkeepers in teams that go down are invariably busy, but Areola has been both active and effective. Had his attacking team-mates been even half as effective Fulham might not be starting next season in the Championship.
Defenders
Everyone knows Lewis Dunk can defend resolutely and mostly avoid giving away own goals but his attacking output makes him arguably the most luxurious defender outside of the Big Six. In terms of productive open play sequences this season, he has been involved with ones with a combined xG of 9.3, below only superstar stoppers Harry Maguire and Ruben Dias. Stuart Dallas has made a Texas-sized impact for Leeds this season and has initiated five sequences that have ended in goals, no defender has more. The defender with the most clean sheets this season? It’s Matt Targett of course, a man who has helped Aston Villa very much keep to theirs, while Vladimir Coufal has had a wonderful first season with West Ham. 72 tackles is the sixth highest total in the Premier League this season and he also has six assists, as many as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Bernardo Silva.
Most assists by defenders in the Premier League this season:
Lucas Digne – 7
AARON CRESSWELL – 7
VLADIMIR COUFAL – 6@Coufi5 @Aaron_Cresswell pic.twitter.com/QmjOxtoT9k
— (@RiceSZN_) May 11, 2021
Midfielders
Burnley started the season like a team who had frankly had enough of their own approach but they slowly recovered, and even showed flashes of style and finesse towards the end of the campaign. Much of that creative effort came from Ashley Westwood, the phantom De Bruyne. His expected assists total of 6.1 is actually higher than Manchester City’s Belgian but Westwood only has three actual assists, a craftsman whose work often goes unnoticed, by both fans and his team-mates. Miguel Almiron has spent much of Newcastle’s season playing in a deeper role and guess what, he’s been pretty good at it, creating 12 goalscoring chances from deep carries. Newcastle have ended the season on a surprising high and it’s players like Almiron who have done the heavy lifting (and carrying) for Steve Bruce. The final berth goes to Fulham’s Ivan Cavaleiro, a strong contender for the Stewart Downing Award: of all players without assists this season, he has created the most chances (36), seven clear of team-mate Antonee Robinson in second place. You know, Fulham’s forwards are not coming out of this audit very well, but the rest of the team has proven pretty decent.
For those who asked for the updated buildings material PL goals chart™️ after Chris Wood proved definitively that the second of the three pigs should have been able to handle a wolf
Wood 45
Stone/Stones 30
Cork 13
Granit 9
Glass 7
Formica 4
Hierro 1— Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor) April 25, 2021
Forwards
Ollie Watkins is stretching the definition of unsung because he has been talked (sung) about a lot this season, but it’s all been justified. We can point to his goals and assists totals (13 and four respectively) and his general air of high pressing but there are plenty of underlying numbers that back up his performances too. He’s been involved in five build-up possessions that have led to goals, a total only Gabriel Jesus can match. He’s also been involved in open play sequences worth an xG of 19.3, a total only divisional heavyweights like Harry Kane and Roberto Firmino can better.
Any way you slice it, Watkins has proven a superb signing. Watkins moved to Villa from Brentford and another alumni from the West London School of Creating Premier League-Ready Footballers is Said Benrahma, who moved to West Ham in the same window. Five assists is good but Benrahma really should have opened his goalscoring account too. 32 shots with a total xG of 2.51 points to a man having speculative efforts when he really should be getting a bit closer to the net. But the raw materials are there. And talking of raw materials, the final slot goes to Chris Wood, the Kiwi Lewandowski. Wood has scored six Premier League goals since the start of April, only two fewer than Manchester City in the same period and is now only three away from the magic 50. Could he do it before this season is over? You Wood not be surprised.
