Mousa Dembele is the Best Passer in the Premier League

Mousa Dembele is the Best Passer in the Premier League

Tottenham Hotspur's Dembele runs with the ball during their English Premier League soccer match against Norwich City at White Hart Lane in London

When it comes to long passing accuracy, the ability to change momentum and turn defense into attack or simply switch wings, no one is more accurate than Mosua Dembele of Tottenham, leading the Premier League in this category among players who have attempted more than 100 passes for 35 yards or more.

Dembele is followed by Joe Allen, who hasn’t been exactly a riveting success for Liverpool, especially because he was usually used in a position he’s not suited for – the defensive midfielder, while his stronger attributes are play-making and distributing the balls, long or short.

But numbers tend to change reality a bit. Both Allen and Dembele have barely crossed the 100 mark. Steven Gerrard might be considered the best passer just on sheer volume. He has attempted nearly 400 passes for this range, completing 77.1% of them, placing him 15th in that aspect. Daniel Agget, also from Liverpool, follows with 86 out of 113, a 76.1% success rate.

Michael Carrick is often considered a master of the trade: He is 20th in the league, completing 74.6% of his long range passing attempts. Teammate Paul Scholes, retiring again at the end of the season, is in the top 10 (although attempting about half the passes Carrick has), with a 84.1% accuracy gauge. Frank Lampard is also in the top 20, but has attempted less than third of Gerrard’s numbers, completing 75.2% of his long range passing.

Best long pass (more than 35 yards) accuracy**

Player Long Passes Attempted Successful Long Passes Long Pass Accuracy (%)
Mousa Dembele 108 99 91.67
Joe Allen 116 104 89.66
Mikel Arteta 199 176 88.44
Ki Sung-Yueng 195 172 88.21
Paul Scholes 132 111 84.09
Yaya Toure 198 164 82.83
Santi Cazorla 215 175 81.40
Giorgos Karagounis 111 90 81.08
James McArthur 150 121 80.67
Leon Osman 129 103 79.84
Jonathan De Guzman 174 136 78.16
Gareth Barry 108 84 77.78
Matija Nastasic 107 83 77.57
James McCarthy 205 159 77.56
Steven Gerrard 393 303 77.10
Daniel Agger 113 86 76.11
Frank Lampard 117 88 75.21
Adel Taarabt 115 86 74.78
Steve Sidwell 107 80 74.77
Michael Carrick 260 194 74.62

** Player must have attempted at least 100 long passes to be included on the list

(Via Daily Mail)


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