Christmas is just 11 days away now and so, Squawka’s advent calendar moves along another spot.
The excitement is certainly building and as part of the festive period, we here at Squawka have been creating our very own advent calendar. We have been comparing players via the grouping of their shirt numbers and determining a top three for each across Europe.
While overall quality was obviously considered when ranking our top three players of the year, the deciding factors were how well they performed during the last 12 months, with notable weighting being given to the World Cup.
No. 1: Marc-André Ter Stegen
No. 2: Kyle Walker
No. 3: Giorgio Chiellini
No. 4: Virgil Van Dijk
No. 5: Raphael Varane
No. 6: Paul Pogba
No. 7: Kylian Mbappé
No. 8: Saúl ÑÃguez
No. 9: Luis Suárez
No. 10: Lionel Messi
No. 11: Mohamed Salah
No. 12: Marcelo
No. 13: Alisson
There was an array of talent to choose from, but here are Squawka’s three best No.14s in the world in 2018:
3. Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City/France)
What makes him special? Manchester City fans may have feared what their defence would be like once Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi started to wind down. But in January the club made sure the future was secure, signing Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao for £57m. The centre-back perfectly embodies Pep Guardiola’s style of play, comfortable to move the ball out from the back and helping to keep 15 clean sheets in 36 games so far in 2018.
Key stat: Aymeric Laporte (1,270) has completed more passes than any other player in the Premier League this season.
2. Blaise Matuidi (Juventus/France)
What makes him special? Blaise Matuidi may have been one of the more understated heroes in France’s World Cup win, providing excellent support for N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba from a wide position. Tactically disciplined, his presence also allowed Kylian Mbappe to get at defences on the opposition wing with the teenager is sublime form in Russia. And Matuidi has done a similarly important job for Juventus in a more central position, putting out fires across the pitch as the Italian side continue to dominate Serie A.
Key stat: Blaise Matuidi won 10 of his 14 attempted tackles at the World Cup, averaging 2.68 per 90 minutes.
1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal/Gabon)
What makes him special? There aren’t many players to have had a better 2018 than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, let alone No.14s. After pushing his way out of Borussia Dortmund, Aubameyang has been a brilliant addition for Arsenal, scoring 10 goals in his first 14 games. And the Gabonese forward has continued that form into the new season, currently the top scorer of Premier League with 10 in 16 games adding to two in three Europa League matches. With Unai Emery finding a way to fit both Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette into the same team, 2019 looks set to be a big one for the 29-year-old.
Key stat: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has converted 27.03% of his shots on goal in the Premier League this season, the third highest of players with at least five goals.
Honourable Mentions:
Alassane Plea (Borussia Monchengladbach/France), Casemiro (Real Madrid/Brazil), Dries Mertens (Napoli/Belgium), Malcom (Barcelona/Brazil), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United/England), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool/England)
The post Squawka’s Xmas advent squad: who’s the best No.14 in Europe? appeared first on Squawka News.
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