One of the oldest footballing clichés – ‘the game will be won and lost in midfield’ – may grate on the ears every time overpaid pundits, who seem to know less than you, utter the words as if they are wise with the wisdom of a, well, wise man. Annoying.
A cliché, but it so often rings true. Even more annoying.
The sheer amount of stellar Premier League midfielders over the years is quite simply astounding. Where strikers often take the plaudits in securing a crucial win for their side, cast your mind back to the number of times a huge tie has been won and lost on the performance of your star midfielders.
A funny breed, those who opt to ply their trade in the engine room. There are so many different types it’s almost tempting to see if David Attenborough fancies conducting some sort of study on their differences.
Defensive, holding, deep-lying, wingers, box-to-box, the list is almost endless!
Here’s a look at the FIFTY best midfielders to ever play in the Premier League...
DIMITRI PAYET
PAUL POGBA
GEORGE BOATENG
MOUSA DEMBELE
N'GOLO KANTE
PHILIPPE COUTINHO
NIGEL DE JONG
DELE ALLI
FERNANDINHO
JOE COLE
NICKY BUTT
MESUT OZIL
STEVE MCMANAMAN
JAMIE REDKNAPP
ARJEN ROBBEN
OWEN HARGREAVES
TUGAY
MIKEL ARTETA
GARETH BARRY
DIETMAR HAMANN
JAMES MILNER
DAVID GINOLA
PAUL GASCOIGNE
MICHAEL BALLACK
JAVIER MASCHERANO
ROBERT PIRES
PAUL INCE
EDEN HAZARD
SANTI CAZORLA
MICHAEL ESSIEN
JUAN MATA
LUKA MODRIC
DAVID SILVA
KEVIN DE BRUYNE
JOHN BARNES
MICHAEL CARRICK
EMMANUEL PETIT
DAVID BECKHAM
YAYA TOURE
CLAUDE MAKELELE
GARETH BALE
CESC FABREGAS
XABI ALONSO
FRANK LAMPARD
CRISTIANO RONALDO
STEVEN GERRARD
PAUL SCHOLES
PATRICK VIEIRA
ROY KEANE