Top 10 Wingmen

Wingmen have been spoken about a lot in the game over the years because of the width they provide for their team in attack.

They play more inside these days as they're now asked to cut inside and score goals which has given them the name of inside forwards.

Wingmen still have the same attributes they've always had in being quick, can both carry and dribble with the ball, and also get crosses into the box.

But the majority of them these days do tend to cut inside as that is what they're being asked to do and they're being asked to do that because the role of a winger has changed a lot over the years.

The Premier League has seen many iconic wingmen duos over the years with some having the same attributes and others being slightly different in style.

The duos in the list are among them and here it is:

Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs

Willian and Eden Hazard

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane

Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Pires

Damien Duff and Arjen Robben

Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale

Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane

Stuart Ripley and Jason Wilcox

David Beckham and Ryan Giggs

Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli

10. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli

Saka and Martinelli had to be in 10th because they haven't played together as long as the other duos in the list did and are still young players.

They have both been key players in Arsenal's rebuild under Mikel Arteta and especially during that first season they first challenged for the title.

They both hit double figures for goals that season with Saka getting 14 and Martinelli getting 15, and both their goals and partnership on the pitch played a key role in Arsenal challenging for the title that season.

But since that season they haven't had the same partnership as Martinelli's numbers have dropped due to lack of consistency.

Saka has continued to deliver and grow as a player but Martinelli just hasn't done it enough on a consistent basis in each of the last two seasons.

9. Stuart Ripley and Jason Wilcox

To those of you who don't know who Ripley and Wilcox were, they were Blackburn's two wingmen during their title winning season in 1995.

These two were a strikers dream in that their first thought was to get crosses into the box and they did that many times during their time together at Blackburn and especially during the season they won the title.

They provided bags of service for Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton during Blackburn's title winning season in 1995 and them doing that made them an integral part of that side.

8. Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale

Lennon and Bale were arguably the two best wide men in the league when they played together at Spurs as they were both quick and both brilliant carriers and dribblers of the ball.

Bale was the more influential of the two as he was Spurs' talisman and the player who got most of the goals and provided the moments of brilliance when his team needed them.

Lennon was only known for being a player with pace because his pace was his greatest strength and he was a player who didn't score a lot of goals.

Both of them were key to Spurs' rise from being a top half team to a team pushing for Champions League football on a regular basis.

7. Damien Duff and Arjen Robben

Duff and Robben were Chelsea's two wide men during their back-to-back titles winning campaigns under Jose Mourinho and they played a key role in both title winning seasons.

They were both quick, brilliant carriers and dribblers of the ball, could get crosses into the box and also cut inside to take shots at goal.

They in some way changed the role of a winger by being able to cut inside and score goals and we've seen wingers play that way ever since.

They played just two seasons together at Chelsea with those seasons being both of the blues' title wins in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

They might've been higher up the list had they played together longer.

6. Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane

Sterling and Sane were City's two wingmen during the Centurions season during which they were both fantastic as they both scored and provided a lot of goals for City that season.

They were both quick, excellent dribblers and carriers of the ball, could cut inside to score goals and also get crosses into the box.

Sane was the more creative of the two as he was the better crosser of the ball and the one who provided the most assists. He registered 15 assists during the Centurions season with only Kevin De Bruyne supplying more that season.

Sterling on the other hand was better known for his dribbling ability and his ability to run in behind and score goals. His finishing wasn't always perfect but during the Centurions season, it improved massively as he netted 18 times and he would soon go on to become one of the best finishers in Europe.

They had just three seasons together at City and I wished they had more because they were both a nightmare to play against on their day because of their lightning pace.

5. Willian and Eden Hazard

Willian and Hazard won everything domestically during their time together at Chelsea including two Premier League titles in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

They were both quick, brilliant dribblers and carriers of the ball, could cut inside to score goals and also get crosses into the box.

Hazard was by far the more influential player as he was Chelsea's talisman and the player they often relied upon to provide moments of brilliance.

But Willian was also an important player for the blues as he scored a number of important goals and also provided some moments of brilliance. But he didn't always get the credit he deserved and it was probably because he was playing with more elite players.

4. Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Pires

Ljungberg and Pires played together for six seasons at Arsenal during which they won two Premier League titles in 2002 and 2004 respectively.

They were both a key part of the Invincibles side in 2004 due to their pace, energy, creativity and ability to score goals.

They both had everything you wanted from a winger in pace, could both carry and dribble with the ball, get crosses into the box and also cut inside to have shots at goal.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs

Ronaldo and Giggs won everything on offer during their time together at Man United including three straight Premier League titles between 2006 and 2009.

They were both different kind of players when they played together as Giggs was the one who would get crosses into the box, as he was getting on a bit and no longer had the pace he used to, and Ronaldo was the more flashy player as he was all about the tricks of stepovers.

Ronaldo was probably looking up to Giggs during the early years of their time together as he was a young player learning the game whereas Giggs was the more experienced pro who had been around for a long time.

But Ronaldo would soon overtake Giggs as the main winger as he later added end product to his game in terms of goals.

2. David Beckham and Ryan Giggs

Giggs' partnership with Beckham just pips his partnership with Ronaldo because he played with Beckham longer.

They both came through the United academy together as part of the Class of 92 and went on achieved a lot of success together including six Premier League titles and the Champions League in 1999 as part of the treble they won that year.

They were both different types of player when they played together as Beckham was a player who would get crosses into the box whilst Giggs at the time was known for his pace, dribbling ability and ball carrying skills.

They would both run up and down the touchline as they both had a lot of energy, but apart from that they were both different kind of players in terms of their abilities on the ball.

Their partnership on the wing played a huge role in every success they achieved together at Man United.

1. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane

Salah and Mane had to be my no.1 because of the amount of goals they scored and the success they achieved together at Liverpool.

They scored a combined total of 198 Premier League goals between them and assisted each other 64 times when they played together at Liverpool where they won everything on offer including the Premier League title in 2020.

Roberto Firmino doing what he did off the ball allowed them to do what they did as Firmino was the one in that front three who sacrificed himself for the team by dropping deep to provide Salah and Mane the space to run into.

They were arguably more of a strike partnership than a wingmen duo as they kept popping up in central areas because of what Firmino did off the ball.

MY TOP 10:

1. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane

2. David Beckham and Ryan Giggs

3. Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs

4. Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Pires

5. Willian and Eden Hazard

6. Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane

7. Damien Duff and Arjen Robben

8. Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale

9. Stuart Ripley and Jason Wilcox

10. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli