Top 10 Attacking Midfielders

Attacking midfielders have been in the game for at least the last 10-15 years as the role of a midfielder has evolved as too have formations.

As I've mentioned in previous top 10's, the majority of teams during the early years of the Premier League played 4-4-2 which required two box-to-box midfielders whereas now most teams play either a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 with the latter in particular requiring a attacking midfielder to play behind the striker.

This top 10 might as well have been called the top 10 no.10's as the no.10 position is where the attacking midfielder plays.

But there are a number of attacking midfielders who have played deeper but have been given the freedom to express themselves further up the pitch.

The role of an attacking midfielder is to provide service for the striker and also contribute with goals as they're the closest player to the striker and the closest midfield player to the goal.

The Premier League has seen many of them during the time range I mentioned earlier including the names on the list.

But there were a fair few names that didn't make it and maybe should've like Dele Alli who was a brilliant player on his day at Spurs. I probably left him out because of how his career has faltered in recent years.

Now here is the list:

Kevin De Bruyne

David Silva

Philippe Coutinho

Juan Mata

Matt Le Tissier

Christian Eriksen

Bruno Fernandes

Mesut Ozil

James Maddison

Gylfi Sigurdsson

10. Gylfi Sigurdsson

Sigurdsson was one of the best attacking midfielders in the Premier League when he was at Swansea as he could both create and score goals.

But he was somewhat underrated during his time there and I say that because he didn't always get the recognition he deserved despite the consistency he showed throughout his time there.

His goal contributions towards the end of his time at Swansea were key to the Swans staying in the Premier League and is was during those final years at Swansea where he was beginning to turn into one of the best attacking players in the Premier League.

His time at Everton didn't go as well as a lot of people hoped as he didn't show the same levels of consistency he showed at Swansea and was at times used out of position.

It was his first season at Everton where he was used out of position as he was used out wide after arriving as one of three no.10's the club signed that summer under Ronald Koeman.

He was put back in his favoured no.10 position in his second season the following season which was his best season with the Toffees. But he still didn't show the same consistency he showed at Swansea as I mentioned before.

9. Mesut Ozil

Ozil was one of the most talented players of his generation as he was a brilliant carrier of the ball, skilful, agile and could play any kind of pass from almost anywhere on the pitch.

He would probably be higher if this was the top 10 attacking midfielders in world football but with it being a Premier League related top 10, he had to be quite low down because he didn't always produce.

He did have games where he showed how good a player he was at Arsenal but he also had games where he wouldn't turn up with the big games being the main ones.

He got a lot of criticism for not turning up in the big games and also for not tracking back to help his team out defensively.

He was a brilliant player to watch when he was on it and especially on the ball but off the ball he was not as effective.

8. James Maddison

Maddison has been one of the best attacking midfielders in the Premier League for the last five to six seasons because of his ability to both create and score goals.

He was certainly right up there as one of them when he was at Leicester where he improved a lot as a player season after season by adding more end product to his game in goals and assists.

He carried the Foxes pretty much all by himself during their relegation season in 2023 as he was the only player who stood out in that team over the course of the season.

He made a very good start at Spurs up until he picked up that injury against Chelsea after which he wasn't the same player and hasn't been since mostly because of injuries.

He's currently out with an ACL injury which is so unfortunate for him and especially with this year being a World Cup year as he was hoping to be part of that squad.

7. Juan Mata

Mata was one of the best players in the Premier League on his day because of his ability to create from both open play and set pieces and ability to score goals.

He was right up there among the best players in Europe when he was at Chelsea as he was their player of the year in back-to-back seasons and was more influential than he was at Man United.

He did have some good games at United including that one against Liverpool at Anfield where he scored twice including a brilliant scissor kick.

But he didn't have the same influence as he had at Chelsea as the United sides he was part of were not great and he spent the majority of his latter years there on the bench.

6. Bruno Fernandes

Fernandes should probably be higher because of the impact and difference he's made since he's been at Man United.

He made a massive difference to United the moment he arrived there as he gave them the creativity and goal threat from midfield they were lacking and the impact he made was key to United finishing in the top four that season.

He's carried the team pretty much ever since he arrived at the club through the goals he's scored and the chances he's created and I'm not sure where United would be without him.

He's being used in a deeper role this season under Ruben Amorim which I personally don't think suits him as he's better off in his favoured no.10 position which is where he's more effective.

5. Christian Eriksen

Eriksen was one of the most creative and best attacking players in the Premier League when he was at Spurs because of his ability to create from both open play and set pieces and ability to score goals.

His deliveries from both corners and indirect free kicks were difficult for defenders to defend because of how accurate and dangerous his deliveries were and it was the same for his deliveries from open play.

A lot of his goals came from long distances as he was a very good striker of the ball from distance and his shots were struck with such power that keepers would struggle to keep them out.

He was somewhat underrated for the majority of his time at Spurs as he didn't always get the credit he deserved despite the numbers he was producing season after season.

He was an integral part of that Spurs team under Mauricio Pochettino because of his creativity which hasn't really been replaced since he left.

4. Philippe Coutinho

Coutinho was one of the best attacking players in Europe when he was at Liverpool because of his ability to create and score goals and some brilliant one too.

He scored some truly incredible goals during his time with the reds with some of them being free kicks and some being incredible strikes from distance.

He stepped up as the reds' main man after Suarez left by providing moments of quality when his team needed it and adding more goals to his game.

It's a shame that his career declined massively after he left Liverpool because he was such a delightful player to watch on his day.

3. Matt Le Tissier

Le Tissier spent his entire career at Southampton and scored just over 100 Premier League goals which was incredible given that he wasn't a striker.

He was an incredible player to watch on his day as he had an incredible first touch, was incredibly skilful, agile and could score some incredible goals.

He all scored all kinds of goals throughout his career at Southampton including that free kick against Wimbledon where he flicked the ball up and hit it on the volley into the top corner.

He was a player who could both create and score goals and do pretty much anything with the ball at his feet because of how skilful he was.

2. David Silva

Silva was a magician on the ball on his day as he was a brilliant carrier of the ball and could pick out any kind of pass from almost anywhere on the pitch due to the incredible vision he had.

He could glide past players effortlessly because of how skilful and agile he was and his individual brilliance took Man City onto another level as he turned them into a top four team on the cusp of being title contenders.

He won four Premier League titles during his time at City and he played a key role in every single one through his creativity and individual brilliance.

1. Kevin De Bruyne

De Bruyne just had to be my no.1 because of the brilliant player he was throughout his time at Man City.

He could pick out any kind of pass from almost anywhere on the pitch due to the incredible vision he had and could run games from midfield with his creativity.

He was never given enough of a chance at Chelsea and he has proven why they should've used him more ever since by becoming one of the best midfielders in Europe.

He played an an instrumental role in every success he achieved at City with whom he won six Premier League titles and was at the heart of everything they did.

He left City for Napoli last summer and he's been a big miss for them as they no longer have that player who can run games from midfield like he did for a number of seasons.

MY TOP 10:

1. Kevin De Bruyne

2. David Silva

3. Matt Le Tissier

4. Philippe Coutinho

5. Christian Eriksen

6. Bruno Fernandes

7. Juan Mata

8. James Maddison

9. Mesut Ozil

10. Gylfi Sigurdsson