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The aura of the Premier League speaks volumes about the quality of competition and the steadfastness of loyalty of the fans. This brings an indescribable feeling to the players taking part in this prestigious tournament.
Many top quality attackers have graced the Premier League with their brilliant performances, scoring goals and providing assists.
Elder players in the Premier League have been contributing well
Age is just a number, they say. But there was a time in the Premier League that, once a player got past the age of 30, he was most likely to get sold. There was a belief that the peak for a footballer is in the age group of 24-27.
With the advancement of sports science, however, many players have been delivering good results at the highest levels despite their 'old age'.
With all that being said, let's take a look at the five oldest players to claim a assist in the Premier League.
#5 Stuart Pearce — 38 years and 252 days
Nicknamed "Psycho" because of his ruthless playing style, defender Stuart Pearce has a Premier League record of 202 appearances. He scored 20 goals, made seven assists, and had 52 clean sheets in them.
The centre-back played for a number of clubs, ranging from those in the Championships to those in the top flight. These clubs include Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and West Ham United, among others.
He made an assist on New Year's Day in 2001 for West Ham in a 3-1 loss against Manchester United at the age of 38 years 252 days.
The former defender later managed Forest and City. He is the current assistant coach of West Ham.
#4 Jussi Jaaskelainen — 38 years 257 days
Who says goalkeepers cannot give assists too despite their initial role, which is to prevent goals from getting into the net? Jussi Jaaskelainen is known for his longevity career at Bolton Wanderers, where he spent 15 seasons. He a total of 530 appearances across all competitions, out of which 436 were in the Premier League.
His assist for West Ham was also on New Year's Day in a 2-1 defeat against Fulham at the age of 38 years 257 days in 2014.
The Finnish keeper was the recipient of the Bolton's Player of the Year award and Players' Player of the Year award in 2007. Jaaskelainen has an EPL record of 108 clean sheets, three assists and seven saved penalties.
He later played for three seasons after the Wanderers got relegated in 2012. He ended his career at the Indian Super League playing for ATK.
#3 Ryan Giggs — 39 years 171 days
Ryan Giggs is regarded as one of the greatest and most decorated forwards of all time. He holds the record for the most Premier League titles won, which is 13. He is among the few EPL players to win the Champions League, FA Cup, Community Shield, Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup, and UEFA Super Cup.
The Welshman also boasts the most assists earned in the EPL with 162. He, Wes Brown, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes are the only Manchester United players to be part of two treble winning squads (1998-1999 and 2007-2008).
Giggs was the first Manchester United player to score 100 goals. His best goal tally came in the 1993-1994 season where he scored 17 goals in 58 appearances.
Giggs ended his footballing career with United in 2014 after spending 24 years with the club. He was left with 34 trophies.
Giggs' assist was registered in the final game of the 2012-2013 season against West Bromwich Albion at the age of 39 years 171 days.
#2 Teddy Sheringham — 39 years 357 days
Teddy Sheringham might currently be second on this list, but he is the oldest player to score a goal in the PL at 40 years, 268 days. He is also the oldest outfield player to appear in an EPL game.
Sheringham played for quite a number of clubs, including Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Portsmouth and West Ham United, among others. But his major career highlight was at the Champions League finals for United against Bayern Munich in 1999. He scored the equalizer and assisted Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's goal to win the game 2-1.
He spent four years with United, winning seven titles in the process. Sheringham is ranked 11th on the EPL all-time goal scorer list with 146 goals.
The Englishman holds the honors of being the inaugural Premier League Golden boot winner during the 1992-1993 season with 22 goals.
Sheringham's assist came in 2006 while playing for West Ham in a match against Wigan Athletic at the age of 39 years 357 days.
#1 Edwin van der Sar — 40 years 59 days
Like Jaaskelainen, Edwin van der Sar is another goalkeeper on the list. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation.
Sar won tons of trophies and individual laurels in his numerous spells at various clubs like Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United.
The Dutchman is among the few players to win the UEFA Champions League with two different clubs (Ajax and Manchester United). He has a record of 132 EPL clean sheets. Sar is also the oldest player to win the EPL.
He provided the assist in February 2011 against Aston Villa at the age of 40 years 59 days while playing for United.
