Midfielder: Fernandinho (Manchester City)
The Brazilian midfielder has had an amazing season at possibly the best of all times, in the world cup year. He has been the vital cog for Manchester City with his passing and agility in the heart of the midfield along with his temperament and tactical reading of the game. He has managed a tally of 58 interceptions in 29 starts and 4 substitute appearances in the league. Fernandinho has been the midfielder who has sat in front of the back four and has allowed Yaya Toure to run havoc in the midfield.
His holding of the ball has been brilliant as he has so effectively kept the passes going in the middle of the pitch. He has also helped the offensive department with 5 goals and 3 assists. He averages 1.2 key passes per game with an overall of 41 key passes, which itself shows that the former Shakhtar midfielder has been very important for the title winning Manchester City team. His best performance was against rivals Arsenal at home, where he scored a brace which helped Man City thrash Arsenal 6-3.
Midfielder: Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
The German play-maker has been criticized heavily off late for his lack of energy on the pitch. But his early season form was commendable, after which the Arsenal team started to deplete because of injuries to key players. Mesut Ozil started off excellently and fit in perfectly in Arsene Wenger’s system. With 76 key passes to his name adding to the 9 assists and 5 goals that he has accumulated, Ozil hasn’t actually had a poor season overall. It has been the German’s high personal standards that make these great stats look like under performances. In an Arsenal team regularly depleted of star value, Ozil was the first star who entered the club in a long time. He was expected to lift the club’s stature and the team and he did exactly that until his mid-season slump in form.
Ozil did pick his form after he came back from his injury and looked fresher. With Ramsey back for the latter part of the season after injury, Ozil seemed to have found his mojo back as he could link up with the energetic Welshman. His most cherished performance was against Stoke City at Emirates when Arsenal won 3-1. Ozil bossed the midfield as he marshalled Arsenal’s attack. Moreover all the three Arsenal goals were scored through set-pieces delivered by Ozil. Here, the irony was that Arsenal, a team which were considered as average set-piece attackers outclassed Stoke who are perennially the set-piece threats in the league. Ozil had altogether seemed to have given a new additional dimension to the Gunners.
Midfielder Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspurs)
Christian Eriksen has been the bright spot in an otherwise dull Tottenham campaign. Erisken has had 7 goals and 8 assists in 23 starts and 2 substitute appearances, especially in the latter stages in the tournament where he showed his best form. In his last 8 games, the Dane has scored 4 and assisted 5. He was bought for 12 million, which is a real steal by Tottenham as he has been the only one consistently trying to lift up an underperforming squad. He has amassed 68 key passes in his first season in English Premier League. Eriksen played in a team which has a very slow tempo of passing and lacks flair in the midfield.
Despite these adversities, he still found out a way to ensure that his supporters do get some sort of entertainment. He singlehandedly delivered when it mattered as Spurs struggled for a Europa League spot. His best performance for Spurs was against Southampton when he solely inspired Spurs to comeback from a 2-0 deficit which they suffered in the opening 30 minutes. He scored a brace to equalise the score and then set up team-mate Gylfi Siggurdson late in the match for the winner as Spurs, for the first time looked to have some spirit in their team as they ran away 3-2 winners.
Midfielder: Marko Arnautovic (Stoke City)
Marko Arnautovic has been the driving force for the Potters this season as he has been involved in all the major attacking prowess the team has shown. Stoke have finished in an impressive 9th position in the league with some better passing and balanced football played. Arnautovic has been the main play-maker for the team playing from the wide position. He has accumulated a tally of 4 goals, 7 assists and 48 key passes in 27 starts and 3 substitute appearances. His most impressive performance was in a defeat against Manchester United early in the season when Stoke lost 3-2 at Old Trafford.
He burst into the Premier League scene with a wonderful goal from a free kick, that also earned him the Man Of The Match award, where he dominated the game for a good portion and was easily the best player on the pitch. If it were not for a couple of late strikes for the Red Devils, Stoke would have got a very memorable victory in one of the world’s toughest grounds to visit.
Midfielder: Willian (Chelsea)
The Brazilian attacking midfielder is known for his pace and power, along with his undying appetite for the sport. He also regularly displayed flair and technique on the pitch when he was the undisputed star at Shakhtar and then in his brief stay at Anzhi. But then Jose Mourinho stole him from Spurs’ grasps and the Brazilian was a Chelsea player. Willian has had a very strong season as the engine for the team. He was never asked to be defensively active in his previous clubs, but in Mourinho, he got a very strict manager who likes his flair players to work hard off the ball as well. He quickly displaced Andre Schurrle and Juan Mata who were fighting for the last attacking midfield spot in the trio behind the striker, and became one of Jose Mourinho’s favourite players.
He has clearly shown his flair and flamboyance in games where he has been given full freedom to attack notably against Stoke City at Stamford Bridge recently where he dominated the game from the play-maker position. His stats undermine the efforts he puts on the pitch, especially in a compact system of play under Mourinho. He has gathered 4 goals and 2 assists in 18 starts and 7 substitute appearances. What is not to be forgotten is that this enthusiastic Brazilian who is the vital cog of all counter attacks Chelsea have had, has amassed a very impressive tally of 65 key passes in the league, clearly showing that he has adapted very well to the likes of Mourinho’s demands.
Also he has been the go to man for the big away games as he has shown the appetite to defend. He has evolved as a player and has drawn lots of praise by Mourinho as he recently said that Willian defends for his life.
Forward: Wilfried Bony (Swansea)
Bony beats Alvaro Negredo as the best Premier League debutant striker. In 27 starts and 7 substitute appearances, Bony has scored an impressive 16 goals and has also provided 4 assists. Bony has been the direct attacker in Swansea’s passing based game and has also been their main talisman in the prolonged injury absence of their star man Michu. Bony’s aerial prowess has always been an important asset for him as well as his long shooting which has yielded him some beautiful goals from improbable ranges.
Wilfried Bony boosted his team at a time when they looked to be heading towards relegation. He averages more than 3 shots per game, and has an overall tally of 108 shots in the league, which proves that he has been a consistent goal threat. He has been particularly prolific in his last 10 games for Swansea where he has amassed an incredible 7 goals and 3 assists, which proves that he singlehandedly powered Swansea to a safe position. His best performances have been the important braces he has scored against Newcastle and Aston Villa as well as his last match against Sunderland where he scored one and assisted one.
Stats from Whoscored.com