Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal are two of the clubs fighting for a place in the top-4 in the points table and both teams have some star players who have been in great form this season. Two players from both teams who have been superb this season, playing in a similar position are Chilean Alexis Sanchez and Belgian Kevin de Bruyne. With similar playing styles, both players have been effective in more than one ways for their squad. But who has been the better player this season? Here is a statistical comparison of two of the best playmakers in the world at the moment:
But who has been the better player this season? Here is a statistical comparison of two of the best playmakers in the world at the moment:
Alexis Sanchez has been playing as a false-9for Arsenal this season and as a result has scored 17 goals already while De Bruyne has just 4 to his name. But this is the only stat that keeps Sanchez high above De Bruyne. Sanchez has 8 assists to his name while De Bruyne has gone one better with 9 and is one of the most effective in the league. De Bruyne has not been too clinical and has a shot accuracy of just 36% but Sanchez, who has been high on confidence this season has a shot accuracy at an astonishing 59% which is one of the highest in the league. However, the Belgian made 58 key passes so far this season while Sanchez has managed just 55, which is also on the higher side for the average in the league.
The Belgian has also created 4 chances more than his Chilean counterpart who has created 73 chances this season. Playing for Guardiola’s side, De Bruyne has almost 200 passes more than Sanchez this season but what makes him far superior is his passing accuracy of 82%, which is one of the best in the league for a player in his position. To give you an idea, Sanchez is also close to the top but he has an accuracy of just 73%, which is well below De Bruyne and also having attempted almost 200 passes less than the City man.
However, both players are closely matched in most other aspects. De Bruyne has a 65.22% successful take on percentage but Sanchez has been a bit better in one on one situations and has a success of 67.62% so far this season. Another stat that De Bruyne is way ahead of Sanchez is the aerial duels won. Neither of the players are known for their strength in the air but the Belgian has shown more grit and has won 27.59% of his ariel duels compared to the 16.67% of Alexis Sanchez this season. However, Sanchez seems to be more determined in winning the ball back and has won 51.75% of his total duels this season while De Bruyne has managed to win just 40.37% of his this season.
Sticking to defensive duties, Sanchez has made 11 interceptions this season, which is also up with the best in the league for his position but De Bruyne has clearly eclipsed him with 20 interceptions this season. Both players have a goal each from free-kicks but Sanchez has been more clinical in set-pieces scoring 3 goals for Arsenal, while De Bruyne has only converted from one dead ball situation all season.
It is almost impossible to separate the two players in terms of stats but who do you think has been more effective this season?
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