Who is the Premier League’s most exciting player…?
5) Hatem Ben Arfa
Probably the ‘worst’ player on this list; what Ben Arfa lacks in consistency and defensive acumen, he more than makes up for in raw skill and dribbling ability. The mercurial Frenchman is one of the only players outside a top six club who can suddenly go from doing nothing in a match, to beating four defenders and finding the top corner. His penchant for wondergoals and his ridiculously quick feet helps him grab a place in this top 5.
4) Leighton Baines
For a left-back to make a list of the league’s most exciting players, he’s got to be pretty special. And Baines is just that. No player in Europe, including Messi, Ronaldo and whatever other superstar, made more chances than Baines last year. If he isn’t rifling in 40-yard bullet freekicks he’s overlapping his fullback and creating countless dangerous opportunities for his lucky teammates. A joy to watch.
3) Eden Hazard
Chelsea paid enormous money to bring the belgian flyer to Stamford Bridge last summer, and it’s fair to say that he;s lived up to his price tag. Hazard is the best dribbler in the Premier League, and when the 22-year-old picks the ball up wide on the left with space to run in to, the poor fullback rarely stands a chance. He can take his man down the line at will, but can also cut inside and rifle in a terrific right-foot shot. Watching him combine with Juan Mata at times last season was simply breathtaking.
2) Mesut Ozil
The £42m German is probably competing with the man ahead of him in the list for the title of the Premier League’s best player. Where Ozil lacks the directness and aggressive attacking instincts the other players in this list have; he is instead the epitome of class and technical ability on a football field. His vision and ability to find a teammate in space is beautiful to watch, and has turned Arsenal from top four hopefuls into genuine title contenders. Ozil is footballing elegance personified, and the Premier League is lucky to have him.
1) Luis Suarez
Whether you love him or hate him, Luis Suarez is one of the most exciting players ever to have played in the Premier League. The ‘misunderstood’ Uruguayan can do everything on a football pitch. He runs, harries and works like the world’s best box-to-box midfielders, but then combines this with regular moments of sheer genius on the ball. Suarez scores all types of goal, whether it be from freekicks, with his left or right, or even from his hand – he doesn’t seem to mind. And that just makes him all the more exciting. Liverpool fans often accuse him of trying to score too beautiful a goal, but the neutral doesn’t seem to mind. As close to genius as anything else in the Premier League right now.
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