The list of the best players from this season’s Premier League is out and there really aren’t many surprise inclusions in the PFA Players’ Player of the Year list. Dimitri Payet comes in thanks to his great performance for West Ham this season.
The Leicester trio of Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante and Jamie Vardy were sure shots on this list as well and Harry Kane and Mesut Ozil complete the quota of six players who would now be set to win the coveted prize soon.
As usual, there are a few names which miss out on the list and one of those players is Hector Bellerin, now we aren’t saying that Bellerin was better than any of the players in the list or some of those players have had worse seasons but it is a bit of a surprise to see that no defender was put into the list, not even Jan Vertonghen or Wes Morgan, who have been excellent this year.
Coming back to the Bellerin issue, he has been one of the most consistent players in the Premier League this season and has shown over the years that he is capable of performing in the big games. There aren’t many players who can beat the defender for pace or even get by him by using an array of tricks.
Bellerin is an excellent crosser of the ball as well and has created a brilliant understanding with the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, in fact, any player who does occupy the right side of the Arsenal team ends up creating most of the chances for the team as well.
The numbers might not give an indication of how good Bellerin has been but his performances have been praised in the past by Arsene Wenger. Speaking after the FA Cup win over Sunderland, the French manager had this to say about the Spanish right-back:
“He became stronger and stronger, sometimes I felt in the last 20 minutes, every time he went forward he created a chance on goal.”
Wenger also added, “The fact that he is only 20 years old, there is a lot more to come from him.”
The funny part is that Bellerin could have been omitted from the main list, which is attack heavy, barring Kante but at least in the PFA Young Player of the Year award, his name isn’t even there. Jack Butland has been incredibly impressive but Bellerin missed out once again.
Maybe there is an issue with the nominations since there really aren’t any defenders in the team. Attack is one aspect of the game but defence is just as important part and without that, no team is complete.
Bellerin is one of the best out there and his name missing from either list is a travesty. Defending is an art and it seems that it is getting lost along the way, had the Spaniard played further up the field, he would have contributed more to the goals and probably could have snuck into the Young player list but that is not to be.
Defenders in the Premier League don’t often get their due, be it Toby Alderweireld, who has turned into one of the best at Tottenham or Christian Fuchs, who somehow has defied age and has made Leicester rock-solid with Morgan and Huth at the back.
This snub, however, should serve as more motivation to Bellerin and seeing how his career has traversed so far at Arsenal, it should not be long before he does make it into the list and it won’t be because he was the best defender in England, it would be because he was the best in England that season.