Rodri, Odegaard… Who is your team's stats-based key player?

Manchester City and Arsenal suffered Premier League losses on the same weekend for the first time since August 2021 last time out, putting the focus on the absent Rodri and Martin Odegaard.

The duo are key for Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta’s sides, with Arsenal set to be boosted by Odegaard’s return against Chelsea, live on Sky Sports on Super Sunday.

With Rodri and Odegaard in mind, we take a stats-based look at all 20 Premier League clubs’ most vital player right now.

Arsenal – Martin Odegaard

The absence of captain Odegaard has started to bite for Arsenal in recent weeks, with one point to show from their last three Premier League games. Over the last three seasons, Odegaard has been the Arsenal team leader for both creativity in open play and pressing. In the seven league games he has missed since September, 21 per cent of the team’s chances have come via set-pieces, up from 11 per cent in 2022/23 and 12 per cent last season.

Aston Villa – Morgan Rogers

Morgan Rogers has been a must for Aston Villa this season, starting all 10 Premier League games so far. In the last four league games in which Villa have scored, Rogers has got them off the mark three times. With those three goals plus two assists, he has already surpassed his Premier League goal involvements from last season. He is Villa’s leader in a number of metrics including open play chances created, dribbles and pressures in attacking areas.

Bournemouth – Milos Kerkez

Milos Kerkez has been Bournemouth’s breakout star of the season, most recently and most notably with assists for both his team’s goals in the win over Manchester City, becoming the youngest player to record two assists in a game against City since Raheem Sterling for Liverpool in 2015. In fact, Kerkez is the youngest player to start all of their team’s Premier League games this season, having only turned 21 on Thursday this week.

Brentford – Bryan Mbeumo

Any Brentford fans concerned about replacing Ivan Toney’s goals needn’t have worried with this season’s sharpest finisher to rely upon. Bryan Mbeumo is outperforming his expected goals by a higher margin than any other player, scoring eight times from an xG for 3.8. Whether he is able to maintain this hot streak remains to be seen. The highest xG overperformance in a full Premier League season on record was Luis Suarez with +10.5 in 2013/14.

Brighton – Danny Welbeck

Danny Welbeck is the renaissance story of the season. He is Brighton’s top scorer with six Premier League goals, four more than any team-mate. One more goal would make this Welbeck’s most prolific league season since 2013/14 when playing under David Moyes at Manchester United. This is the 17th successive season in which Welbeck has featured in the Premier League and will be his best yet if he maintains his shot conversion and minutes per goal rates.

Chelsea – Cole Palmer

Without question, Cole Palmer remains Chelsea’s most important player this season. Nobody in the Premier League combines output with work-rate as effectively as Palmer. He is level with Mohamed Salah for most goal contributions and outright top for chances created in open play. Only pressing machine Dominic Solanke outranks Palmer for counter-pressures, those which occur within two seconds of opponents gaining the ball

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Crystal Palace – Marc Guehi

With four points from the last two games, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Crystal Palace following their disappointing start to the season. Marc Guehi remains the shining beacon of the team, the 24-year-old being the divisional leader for clearances and headed clearances (41). He has also scored twice from set-piece situations this season, an area in which Palace excel at both ends of the pitch.

Everton – Dwight McNeil

Dwight McNeil’s switch from left wing to the number 10 role has reaped rewards for Everton. He has created a higher proportion of his team’s chances than any other Premier League player this season, resulting in three assists so far. Only one player (Fulham’s Andreas Pereira on 68) has made more crosses than McNeil’s 65 this season, including corner deliveries from both sides. McNeil has taken 77 per cent of his team’s corners.

Fulham – Joachim Andersen

Joachim Andersen was well established as one of the Premier League’s most effective long-distance passers during his three seasons with Crystal Palace and has not toned it down since returning to Fulham. Andersen completes by far the most long passes per 90 minutes of any outfield player in the division and is also top for passes that take out seven or more opponents. As a consequence, Fulham are joint-top for ‘direct attacks’ this season.

Ipswich – Leif Davis

Leif Davis provided 18 assists as Ipswich were promoted last term, the most recorded by a defender in a season in the top two divisions. The quality of his deliveries remains crucial to Ipswich now, particularly from set-pieces, on which they have been the most reliant team with over 20 per cent of their chances coming via that route. Thirteen of Ipswich’s 16 chances from set-pieces have been from Davis’s pinpoint deliveries.

Leicester – Facundo Buonanotte

The only teenager with five or more goal involvements in this season’s Premier League is Facundo Buonanotte. The Leicester midfielder – on a season-long loan from Brighton – scored his team’s first goal in each of their only two league wins so far, against Bournemouth and Southampton, helping them towards 10 points from their opening 10 games. No team has been relegated from the Premier League when averaging one point or more per game since 2010/11.

Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

Decisive goals in the last 20 minutes of Liverpool’s last two Premier League games have reaffirmed the importance of Mohamed Salah, as if it was needed. Salah has been involved in a higher proportion of his team’s goals than anyone else in the division this season, with his seven goals and five assists accounting for 63 per cent of Liverpool’s total. Salah’s previous high was a 50 per cent contribution in 2017/18, his first season at Anfield.

Man City – Rodri

Put simply, no Premier League team’s fortunes are more tied to a single player than Manchester City’s are to Rodri. The Ballon d’Or winner clocked up his 52nd successive league appearance without defeat – the second-longest of its kind in Premier League history – against Arsenal in September when he sustained his knee injury. Following the recent loss at Bournemouth, each of City’s last five league defeats have now come without their midfield linchpin.

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Man Utd – Alejandro Garnacho

One of the most interesting questions of the coming weeks is how Manchester Utd will set up under new head coach Ruben Amorim. The Portuguese started with a back three in every game while at Sporting, which leaves a question mark over Alejandro Garnacho’s future position in the team. The stats demonstrate he has been a top 10 dribbler in the Premier League this season in a United team that has played with width, albeit with mixed results.

Newcastle – Nick Pope

No goalkeeper has been more valuable to their team this season than Nick Pope. The Newcastle man has conceded four goals fewer than his expected goals faced this season – the best return of any goalkeeper. In all but one match, Pope has conceded fewer goals than xG faced. Rounding up his xG prevented to the nearest whole number in each game, Pope’s saves have effectively been worth four points to Newcastle this season.

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Nottingham Forest – Murillo

No team has improved more defensively from last season than Nottingham Forest. The season’s surprise package are conceding over a goal per game less on average, a huge upturn compared to any other team. Brazilian Murillo is the leader of the backline and is in the Premier League’s top six for both clearances (56) and blocks (11) this season. Defensively, Forest have made their best start to a top division season since 1977/78.

Southampton – Adam Armstrong

Adam Armstrong, although the main man for Southampton in the Championship last season, was just another number among the league-high 28 players used so far this campaign. That was until his first Premier League goal of the season gave the Saints their first win last time out against Everton. If the 27-year-old striker can continue to show anything like his form from last season, Southampton’s survival chances will hugely increase.

Tottenham – Dominic Solanke

Dominic Solanke has proved the perfect fit for Tottenham’s pressing game, helping his team become the top pressers in the Premier League this season based on PPDA – opposition passes per defensive action attempted. Solanke is way out in front for final third pressures, with his 241 being over double his closest team-mate (Dejan Kulusevski on 120). But with four goals in his last six league games, Solanke’s game is more than just hard work.

West Ham – Jarrod Bowen

It is fair to say West Ham’s fortunes so far this season would look a whole lot worse without the clutch contributions of Jarrod Bowen. All five of his goals (three) and assists (two) have come in four games in which West Ham have taken points. In their six other games this season, they have just a single point. Bowen’s goal involvements include a 95th-minute assist in the 1-1 draw at Fulham and a 92nd-minute winner against Manchester United.

Wolves – Joao Gomes

In a season with little to cheer about, Wolves fans had perhaps their brightest moment when Joao Gomes put them ahead in the final 20 minutes against Crystal Palace before the Eagles found an equaliser. In fact, Gomes has been the brightest spark for Wolves, scoring that goal with his first shot on target this season, but having got through a huge amount of dirty work in midfield beforehand. He is the division’s joint-top tackler and fourth for possession won.