Who is every Premier League club’s most influential player? Surprises for Man Utd, Arsenal… | OneFootball

Darwin Nunez, Kai Havertz and Victor Lindelof have brought the points.

Perhaps Manchester United won’t miss Lisandro Martinez quite as much if Victor Lindelof is back. And Arsenal’s most influential player is one of their most maligned…

The most influential player or a good luck charm? We’ve looked at the points per match (PPM) leader at every Premier League club. Players must have started at least 10 games to make the cut. Thanks to FBref for the numbers.

Arsenal: Kai Havertz – 2.23 Of Mikel Arteta’s regulars, Havertz is just ahead of Oleksandr Zinchenko (2.19) and Martin Odegaard (2.15). Weren’t expecting that, were you? Havertz isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, especially when leading the line, but Arteta clearly trusts him. And the German offers a clear Plan B if the Arsenal boss doesn’t fancy Gabriel Jesus for any particular assignment.

Aston Villa: Pau Torres – 2.28 Torres has been massive for Unai Emery since he arrived in the summer, prompting questions of every other Premier League club who looked but never took the punt. It is unlikely to be a coincidence that Villa have won only one – and that was against Sheffield United – of their five matches without him in recent weeks.

Bournemouth: Adam Smith – 1.71 Perhaps Smith’s ascent in Andoni Iraola’s estimation is no coincidence either. The defender struggled to get a game at the start of the season but Smith becoming a regular sparked a seven-game unbeaten run. The 32-year-old has missed only one game since Bonfire Night – the 4-0 shellacking at home to Liverpool.

Brentford: Bryan Mbeumo – 1.27 Mbeumo’s absence – especially before Ivan Toney’s return – was huge, but there were signs before the Cameroon striker’s ankle injury that the Bees were starting to struggle, losing three of the last four matches for which he was available. Since Mbeumo has been missing Brentford have slipped from the comfort of mid-table towards a relegation fight. It doesn’t help that they can’t hold on to a lead.

Brighton: Bart Verbruggen – 1.60 Pervis Estupinan is one start away from being eligible here and with 1.82PPG, the left-back would be a more credible choice than one of Brighton’s two job-sharing goalkeepers.

Burnley: Jordan Beyer – 0.73 The German centre-back has been one of Burnley’s more reliable performers – when he’s been fit. Beyer was injured against Villa in the last game of last year. “Hopefully he’ll be back for the Luton game,” said Vincent Kompany. That was almost a month ago and still no sign of the defender.

Chelsea: Levi Colwill – 1.50 It is hard to think of any Chelsea player that isn’t dispensable but in Colwill’s absence in the last two games, the Blues have shipped eight goals.

Crystal Palace: Eberechi Eze – 1.38 If Eze and Michael Olise didn’t keep getting injured, Roy Hodgson wouldn’t be under the pressure currently piled upon him. One, maybe both, will be gone in the summer. Palace just need to hope they leave them as a Premier League club.

Everton: Abdoulaye Doucoure – 1.50 The Everton midfielder is marginally ahead of Jack Harrison (1.47). Doucoure has played only one of the last six, none of which Everton have won.

Fulham: Calvin Bassey – 1.33 The £19million summer signing from Ajax has missed seven games after the opening weekend and Fulham haven’t won any of them. Tosin Adarabioyo (1.36) was a single start from pipping Bassey.

Liverpool: Darwin Nunez – 2.32 Nunez brings points as well as chaos though Wataru Endo (2.4) deserves a mention despite being two starts short of being eligible. Jurgen Klopp thought he could do without Nunez at Arsenal, a decision he admitted was a mistake: “Maybe. But I understand it if you are right… We did not play enough football.”

He can’t finish, mind.

Luton: Gabriel Osho – 1.25 The Hatters defender missed the first nine games of the season because of a knee injury but since his return, Osho has started every game but one while Luton continue to impress. The 25-year-old is no longer flying under the radar, with Aston Villa reported to be watching him.

Manchester City: Rodri – 2.58 City are reliant on Rodri. More on this breaking news as we get it.

Manchester United: Victor Lindelof – 2.08 For all the talk of Lisandro Martinez being United’s MVP, it turns out Lindelof is their lucky charm so it’s handy that the Sweden defender made his return against West Ham shortly after the Argentine hobbled down the tunnel. Scott McTominay then Harry Maguire follow Lindelof – one in the eye for those who wanted all three gone last summer.

Newcastle: Nick Pope – 1.86 No one doubted what a loss Pope would be when he knacked his shoulder towards the end of the win over Manchester United at the start of December. Since then, the arse has fallen out of the Magpies’ season, winning only two of their last nine while keeping just a single clean sheet.

Nottingham Forest: Matt Turner – 1.00 This one is rather more surprising. Danilo (1.06) just misses out with nine starts, and Turner’s influence hasn’t been as positive as this might suggest. Hence the reason Forest went on a mad pre-deadline dash for a goalkeeper. Gary Neville was very harsh to pin Turner as ‘useless’, but you would struggle to find many with much positive to say about his contribution this season.

Sheffield United: George Baldock – 0.55 The right-back has missed more games (12) than he’s played (11) and the Blades have missed him. With Baldock, perhaps the Blades would not have been quite as s***. As it is, they’re sweating on staying off this list.

Tottenham: James Maddison – 2.31 Of course the Premier League’s most creative player carries the biggest influence at Spurs.

James Maddison is back for Spurs.

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West Ham: Lucas Paqueta – 1.83 Likewise, Paqueta is the Hammers’ creative heartbeat, so it’s little wonder they have flatlined since the Brazilian has been sidelined with a calf problem. Prior to that, West Ham won three on the spin, beating Man Utd, Arsenal and Wolves. Since Paqueta’s injury, they haven’t won in four.

Wolves: Pablo Sarabia – 1.63 Sarabia had to apologise for his use of the ponder emoji on social media when he was left as an unused substitute against Fulham in November. Since then, he’s played a role in all 10 Premier League games, scoring once and creating three more amid a fine run that has propelled Wolves into the top half.

F365 Features Darwin Nunez