Squawka’s Xmas advent squad: who’s the best No.8 in Europe?

With less than 17 days to go until Christmas, Squawka’s advent calendar moves along another spot.

We’re now on the second Saturday of December and just over a fortnight away from Christmas. Things are getting serious now, as decorations start to go up and trees set to overshadow many a living room. Shopping is entering that period where prices are starting to go up as stock diminishes and, of course, the advent calendars are a third of the way through. So is ours, where we are comparing players via the grouping of their shirt numbers.

While overall quality was obviously considered when ranking our top three players of the year, the deciding factors were obviously how well they performed during the year, 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 Mbappe

There’s been lots of talent to choose from, but here are Squawka’s three favourite No.8s in Europe for 2018:

3. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/Germany)

What makes him special?  Toni Kroos may not have had the best second half of 2018, with a poor showing at the World Cup with Germany and a bad start to the 2018/19 season with Real Madrid, but the midfielder’s first half more than makes up for it. Kroos was vital to Real Madrid’s run to a third consecutive Champions League trophy playing the full 90 minutes in six of their seven knockout games, allowing Luka Modric to run the show.

Key stat: Toni Kroos (23) has created more chances in the Champions League group stage this season than any other player.

2. Suso (AC Milan/Spain)

What makes him special? Suso may still have a slightly bad reputation as a Liverpool flop, but with each game the Spaniard continues to prove his doubters wrong. The winger has been integral to AC Milan’s attacking play this year, contributing with goals and assists which have also seen him grab a starting role for the Spanish national team. Time for Suso to make 2019 his.

Key stat: Suso (eight) has recorded more assists than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues this season.

1. Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid/Spain)

What makes him special? Need an important goal? Better call Saul! The Spanish midfielder has been in the form of his life in 2018, helping Atletico win the Europa League and Uefa Super Cup, with a goal in the latter against rivals Real Madrid. Saul has proven himself to be a key member of Diego Simeone’s Atletico side and his willingness to play for the manager has seen him utilised across the pitch including at left-back recently to help deal with extensive defensive injuries. His form has also carried into the Spanish national team, scoring in two of their four Nations League matches. There has been no better no.8 in Europe this year.

Key stat: Saul has opened the scoring in 14 of the 19 games he has scored in for club and country since 2016/17.

Honourable Mentions:

Naby Keita (Liverpool/Guinea), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City/Germany), Juan Mata (Manchester United/Spain), Arthur (Barcelona/Brazil), Luka Jovic (Eintracht Frankfurt/ Serbia), Diego Perotti (Roma/Argentina), Takashi Inui (Real Betis/Japan), Andre Gomes (Everton/Portugal)

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