Over the years many top Dutch players have graced the English top flight, and delighted us with their, ability, fitness, and work ethic. Men such as Muehren, Thijseen, and Van Persie have thrilled us over the years. It seems nearly every club has been touched by an exponent of the art of ‘total football’ at one time or another.

Here’s a Premier League Dutch XI which in my humble opinion would probably win any trophy available.

Goalkeeper- Edwin Van Der Sar- Easily beating out the likes of De Goey and Hans Segers, VDS is one of the best Goalkeepers of the past twenty years. A Champions League winner’s medal and a hat-trick of Premier League title wins makes him one of the most successful as well. Perhaps his greatest achievement has been finally replacing Schmeichel at Old Trafford after many tried and failed.

Right back- Mario Melchiot- Still going strong at Wigan, the former Birmingham player is probably best remembered for his time at Chelsea. An FA cup winner in 2000 he could also play centre back but due to the lack of any other Dutch right backs in this team his position is obvious.

Left back- Giovanni Van Bronckhorst- Although bought to partner Patrick Vieira in midfield Van Bronckhorst could also play at left back when needed to. A serious injury curtailed his time at Highbury but fortunately for him Barcelona were willing to take a chance. His time at Arsenal was not a complete waste of time as he did win 2 FA cups and a Premier League winner’s medal.

Centre back- “Yip Jap Stam he’s a big Dutch man get past him if ‘you think’ you can.....” United fans loved the defender bought from PSV for a then-whopping £10.75 million. He was more than worth it as he helped United to a treble in his first season and to three consecutive titles before being sold to Lazio. Fergie has since admitted he made a mistake selling him, little comfort to the many United fans who felt the same.  Now scouting for United- and probably still scaring strikers to death.

Centre back- Arjen De Zeeuw- The former Barnsley, Portsmouth and Wigan defender was one of the most admired and well-liked players in the league especially after he responded to being spat on by El Hadji Diuof, by ignoring the lovely chap and going on to score the winning goal. Prime Minister Tony Blair -while making an appearance on Football Focus- said of De Zeeuw: “He’s really strong never gives up.” A bit unlike Blair of course, who went on to resign.

Left midfield- Arjen Robben- Slipped through the net at Old Trafford after deciding to join Mourinho’s Chelsea instead- despite a visit to United’s training ground. United’s loss was Chelsea’s gain as the Flying Dutchman, sorry but had to get in somewhere, helped his new employers to back-to-back titles.  Who knows had he picked Old Trafford instead, things may have been different. Left Stamford Bridge for Real Madrid in 2007, this season he  found himself surplus to requirements at the Bernabeu with the arrival of the new batch of Galaticos despite being one of Real’s better players last year. Now at Bayern Munich and at only 26 years of age his best may still be yet to come.

Centre midfield- Edgar Davids- His time in the Premier League may have been brief but there’s little denying his impact. Signed by Martin Jol from Internazionale in 2005, in the two seasons he spent at White Hart Lane the club enjoyed back-to-back 5th place finishes.  With a non-stop engine and the ability to break teams down, Davids was one of the great defensive midfielders of his time.  Left Spurs to rejoin his first club Ajax. The only player I have ever seen wearing goggles.

Centre midfield- Boudewijn Zenden- Although primarily a left winger in his football career, it was as a central midfielder at Middlesbrough that Zenden flourished in the English game. After arriving at Chelsea as one of Ranieri’s first signings, Zenden struggled with injuries and form, however his move to the North East rejuvenated him as helped the club to its only ever trophy with a dodgy penalty in the League Cup final.  The fans voted him player of the year 2004-05 which was his last at the Riverside. A largely unmemorable spell at Anfield followed, where due to injury he never quite recaptured his previous season’s form.  After a brief spell at Marseille he is now back in the Premier League with Sunderland.

Right midfield- Dirk Kuyt- At the beginning of last season this could have been seen as a bit of a joke, but there’s no denying the importance Kuyt now has in Benitez’s side. Bought from Feyenoord as a striker, the tenacious little fella has carved out a reputation as one of the most industrious wingers in the league following a position change. Has a knack of scoring important goals and has shown the Anfield faithful that not all Dutch wingers are a waste of space.

Striker- Ruud Van Nistelrooy- The goals-to-game ratio of Van Nistelrooy at United was quite frankly ridiculous. Bought from PSV following a protracted transfer due to a knee injury, Van Nistelrooy wasted no time in scoring goals and breaking records as he helped United win the league in his second season. That solitary title was the only one he won during his five-year time at Old Trafford, fairly astonishing considering he scored 95 league goals in 150 appearances, not to mention becoming United’s all-time European top-scorer with 38 Champions league goals. Left for the Bernabeu in 2006 where after four seasons, the last two blighted by injury, he signed for Bayern Munich. Quite simply a goal scoring machine.

Striker- Dennis Bergkamp- Bruce Rioch did his successor one of the biggest favours in football history when he signed the ‘perfect 10’ from Inter in 1995. New manager Arsene Wenger must’ve thanked his lucky stars as Bergkamp, first alongside Ian Wright, then Anelka, and finally Henry, was to prove one of the greatest foreign players ever to grace the Premiership.  His 120 goals in 400 odd appearances for the gunners is only the half of it as countless were truly memorable -my personal favourite being the one against Newcastle in 2002. 3 league titles and 4 FA cups in a ten-year English career was just deserts for a true legend. Also known for doing an uncanny Mr T impression at airports.

Subs bench- Robin Van Persie, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Marc Overmars, George Boateng, Ruud Gullit.

Any glaring omissions?