Since the rebranding of the top division of English football as the Premier League in 1992, England has seen more than its fair share of world-class talent, both domestic and foreign, pass through the country. From the stars of the 90s such as Shearer, Sherwood, Keane, Beckham, Adams, and Bergkamp to the golden age of the early noughties, which saw imports such as Henry, Ronaldo, Vidic, Evra, Drogba, Torres, Alonso, and Tevez, along with the golden generation of the England national team, comprising Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes, Ferdinand, Rooney, Owen, Cole and Campbell, the Premier League has slowly developed into an increasingly attractive destination for all kinds of players.
It may be virtually impossible to decide who the best player to grace English shores has been. However, we can always have a go. To compile an all-time Premier League team would perhaps be a step too far(and could potentially end in tears and heartbreak for the players left out), we can endeavor to identify who might be the best over a given, shorter period of time. With that in mind, and the year 2020 shortly upon us, it seemed apt to try and create a team of the best players to play in the Premier League over the past decade.
There are a couple of rules for selecting this team, though. Players will be judged only on their performances in the Premier League, and in this decade. So, for example, Zlatan Ibrahimovic may be one of the best overall players to participate in the Premier League, but that is largely based on his record outside of England, and his performances in the league themselves do not warrant a spot in this side. Of course, there is bound to be some debate about this team, but, unfortunately, not everyone can be picked.
So, without further ado, here is the Premier League team of the 2010s.
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Goalkeeper: David de Gea
David de Gea really didn't have to do much to cement his place in this XI. Ever since he signed for Manchester United in 2011, de Gea has always been in and around the conversation for the best goalkeeper in the world. It seems hard to believe now, considering his-and United's-recent struggles, as well as his underwhelming 2018 World Cup campaign with Spain, but de Gea has always been a consistent performer for whatever team he represents.
Sir Alex Ferguson only missed two United games during his 26-year long stint at the helm. One was to attend his son's wedding, and the other was to watch de Gea in action for Atletico Madrid, on the recommendation of his scouts. Indeed, in the 2010/11 season, de Gea played all 38 games for Atletico, making what is still a career-high 3.9 saves per game.
Ferguson brought him to Old Trafford for the following season, but it seemed that he had erred, given the Spaniard's intial failure to adapt quickly to English conditions, and the physicality of the league, but Ferguson's faith was rewarded. de Gea grew in leaps and bounds, consistently pulling off gravity-defying saves and displaying cat-like reflexes when confronted with one-on-one situations. de Gea is also uniquely gifted at making a large proportion of saves with his feet, something many goalkeepers are loath to do, preferring to attempt saves with their hands.
In 2017/18, when Manchester United's second-place finish reflected their best season since the triumphant 2012/13 campaign, it was de Gea's performance in goal which ensured the Red Devils outperformed their expected goals against by almost 15, an invaluable contribution. Now 28, and having recently signed a new contract, de Gea has come a long way from the scrawny 20-year old who landed up in north-east England, is considered a senior figure at Old Trafford, and will hope to win more than just the one league title which he possesses currently.
Right back: Cesar Azpilicueta
There is no doubting that the current decade has been one of blue dominance, with the two best teams in England over the last ten years being Manchester City and Chelsea. As far as right-backs go, Azpilicueta is right up there with the best of them, and had to beat off competition from current City full-back Kyle Walker and ex-City right-back Pablo Zabaleta.
Cesar Azpilicueta arrived at Chelsea in 2012, just months after the London club had lifted the Champions League, following 2 excellent seasons in France with Olympique Marseille, preceding which he had broken out in La Liga for Osasuna. In his first season with the Blues, Azpilicueta lifted the Europa League after the club dropped out of the Champions League. That season, he completed 69 tackles at a success rate of 82.1%, as well as making 1.6 interceptions per game, and providing 2 assists for good measure.
Always considered a defensively-minded player, contrary to the modern use of full-backs as attacking threats, 'Dave' is equally comfortable at centre-back and left-back as well. Although not the most physically gifted, his tenacity and work rate enable him to consistently make things difficult for opposition attackers. Across the last 7 seasons in the Premier League, he has a tackle success rate of 76.6%, and averages 1.9 interceptions per game, which is not to be scoffed at, as it would not look out of place for even a top quality ball-winning midfielder.
A model professional, Azpilicueta leads a quiet life away from the pitch and maintains his fitness excellently. A measure of his professionalism and reliability can be seen in the fact that, over the last 4 years, he has missed only 325 minutes of league action, even playing every single minute of Chelsea's victorious 2016/17 season, no mean feat for an outfield player. Now 30, and in his prime as a defender, he remains ever dependable and continues to churn out performances for club and country alike.
Centre back: Vincent Kompany
One of the first signings of the Sheikh Mansour era for Manchester City, not many expected big things of Vincent Kompany when he arrived from Hamburg in 2008. However, during his time with the Citizens, the big Belgian has achieved legend status amongst their fans, and has earned the respect and admiration of rival fans and players alike.
From 2008 to 2015, Kompany was indispensable to City, for his performances sometimes single-handedly won games for them. A hard-as nails tackler, he could occasionally seem rash, but always knew what he was doing. In his first three seasons of this decade, he averaged a 90% tackle success rate, as well as averaging over 2.5 interceptions per match, highlighting his exceptional ability to read the game.
Persistent injuries meant that from 2015 onwards, Kompany was never able to put together a consistent run of games. Indeed, he has averaged only 15 appearances a season over the last 4 campaigns. However, despite this, he has often come up big for the club when they have needed him most. In 2018, he scored the opening goal against Manchester United which would have contributed to a win, and City securing the title that very week, had United not come back in spectacular fashion in the second half to win 3-2. The following season, it was his long-range thunderbolt, his only goal of the season, which helped City to a 1-0 win over Leicester City, without which they may not have lifted the league trophy that season. His medal haul of 4 league titles, 2 FA Cups and 4 League Cups speaks to how decorated a player Kompany has been for City.
Kompany's influence on Manchester City, however, extends far beyond the pitch. As a captain, and a leader, he has proven to be an exemplary role model for children at City's state-of-the-art youth academy.
Having left England this past summer, Kompany is now player-manager of Anderlecht in his native Belgium.
Centre back: Virgil van Dijk
It may seem as though Virgil van Dijk has just burst onto the scene, given the hype that has built around the Dutchman over the last 18 months. However, it is easy to forget that he has been playing in the Premier League since 2015, when he signed for Southampton from Celtic. Though he didn't always get his due, it was easy to see that van Dijk was an exceptionally gifted player, and he came to worldwide attention when Liverpool spent 75 million pounds to bring him to Anfield in January 2018.
He was an instant fan favourite when he scored on his debut with a thumping header against local rivals Everton, in a cup tie. His first six months in Merseyside saw him pick up where he left off with the Saints, putting up an impressive tackle success ratio of 91.4%, and averaging nearly 2 interceptions a game while also winning 73% of his aerial duels, as Liverpool went all the way to the Champions League final, only to be defeated by Real Madrid.
His numbers would only improve the next season, as Liverpool lost out on the Premier League trophy by just 1 point, but won their sixth Champions League. van Dijk was not dribbled past for the entire season in both competitions, with a tackle success rate of 100%.
However, what has been unique about van Dijk ever since his days at Celtic, and indeed, FC Groningen before that, has been his quality on the ball. He is a supremely accurate passer, as evidenced by his 87.3% pass accuracy over his 4 seasons in the Premier League. His range is also excellent, as he completes over 60% of his 7.7 attempted long balls per game. He also formed a superb defensive partnership with youngster Matthis de Ligt for the Netherlands as they made it to the UEFA Nations League final.
If Liverpool are to win their first title in 31 years, this could well be the season that they need van Dijk to take his game to the next level.
Left back: Leighton Baines
Everton stalwart Leighton Baines started his career as a left winger in youth football, before Wigan manager Roberto Martinez converted him into a left-back, where he played for them for five years between 2002 and 2007. Similarly to Azpilicueta, Baines is an extremely dependable player, but unlike the Spaniard, is far more of a threat going forward.
Baines' defensive numbers are more than commendable, as he averages more than 2.2 tackles per game at a 78.3% success rate, as well as 1.5 interceptions. He has played every minute of a Premier League campaign twice in this decade alone, in 2010/11 and 2012/13, putting up strong numbers in both seasons, as well as registering an 85% tackle success rate in the intervening season, 2011/12.
However, Baines is able to showcase his full range when going forward. Often bombing up and down the left flank for Everton, he has averaged 1.9 key passes(passes leading to a shot) per game over the last 9 seasons. He is also an adept taker of penalties and set-pieces, and has scored 27 goals in 250 league appearances this decade. He also averages 0.65 dribbles per game, an impressive statistic for a defender. The 30-capped Englishman also holds the Premier League record for the most assists by a defender, with 33.
Now at the age of 34, Baines' career is slowing down, and he is being phased out of the Everton team bit by bit. However, there can be no doubting that he is one of the best left-backs the league has ever seen.
Right Winger: Gareth Bale
Nothing in this world scares a defender on a football pitch more than raw pace. Skillful, tricky and fast attackers are the the stuff of defenders' nightmares, whether they are running at them, or getting in behind to get on the end of passes put through the lines. Simply put, Gareth Bale in his prime was the most dangerous attacker in the Premier League. He may have played only 3 seasons in the league this decade, but the impact he has had in those three seasons is what lands him a spot in this lineup.
Bale terrorised Premier League and Champions League defenders with his quick and direct play, as well as his unpredictability. He was just as likely to take on a shot from 30 yards as he was to chip the ball in to a teammate running in behind, and was just as likely to cut in on his left foot or drive to the byline and cross. His incredible fitness and physicality made him almost unplayable, and for 7 glorious years between 2007 and 2013, Tottenham Hotspur fans were treated to some of the best football they had ever seen.
Between 2010 and 2013, Bale made 99 league appearances for Tottenham, scoring 37 goals and providing 15 assists. He averaged 3.6 shots per game, as well as 2.1 key passes, and had a shot conversion rate of 10.16%, not bad for a player who played out wide. He announced himself in a big way in 2010, when he scored a hat-trick against Inter Milan, reigning European champions at the time, turning Brazilian right-back Maicon inside out all game long.
After a stellar 2012/13, in which he scored 21 league goals, Bale moved to Real Madrid for a then-world record fee of 100 million euros, and while he has had off-field problems, his record on the pitch remains as good as ever, and he has won 4 Champions League titles with Los Blancos, scoring in 2 finals.
Central Midfielder: Frank Lampard
As far as great Premier League midfielders go, Frank Lampard must certainly be in the top 5, if not the top 3. If David Silva was all grace and poise, Lampard was boundless energy in a bounded form. As an all-time Chelsea and West Ham great, Lampard won a total of 14 trophies in a 20-year long playing career.
Lampard moved to Chelsea in 2001 for 11 million pounds after graduating from the famed West Ham United academy, which has produced the likes of Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe, Rio Ferdinand and his Chelsea teammate and long time captain John Terry. The very fact that he is included in this team is testament to his unbelievable ability, given that he started this decade at the age of 32, when most players tend to wind down.
Instead, Lampard continued to shine, averaging 1.7 shots, 1.4 tackles, and 1.2 interceptions per game from 2010 to 2015, including one season with Manchester City, before joining New York City and ending his career in the USA. He also averaged 1.4 key passes per game whilst scoring 48 goals and providing 12 assists in 141 league appearances in this decade. This has given him a minutes per goal involvement ratio of 148, from the ages of 32 to 37, a figure most players would love to have in their prime, never mind the latter stages of their career.
Lampard was also an extremely underrated passer, often completing 40 passes a game on average, with a pass completion rate of 85%. His last season in the Premier League, with Manchester City in 2014/15, saw him register 6 goals(including a winner against Chelsea) and 1 assist, in just 10 starts and 991 minutes of football all season, at the ripe old age of 37. He also holds numerous Premier League records, including the record for most goals by a midfielder in a season, most successive league appearances and most goals from outside the box, among others.
Lampard is now manager of his beloved Chelsea, after a spell with Derby County in the Championship, where his attacking style of football and emphasis on youth development has earned him yet more adulation from the Stamford Bridge faithful. It's safe to say that 'Super Frank' may well have more to give this game.
Central Midfielder: David Silva
Over the years, the Premier League has seen some of the very best midfield talent. The likes of Gerrard, Scholes, Keane, Vieira, Xabi Alonso and Kevin de Bruyne have captured the imagination of young and old alike. One man who flies slightly under the radar, but is certainly deserving of a mention amongst these stars, is Spanish midfielder David Silva.
Silva was brought to Manchester City from Valencia as part of the Mansour revolution, and was seen as a player who could help unleash the attacking talent the owners were looking to bring in. His 2009/10 season at Valencia made for impressive reading: 8 goals and 7 assists in 30 league games, along with 1 dribble completed and 2 key passes provided per game. As a 23-year old, he was seen as a promising future prospect.
Blessed with a low centre of gravity due to his diminutive stature, Silva is able to turn opposition players swiftly and smoothly, thus enabling him to find and exploit gaps on the pitch which other players may not be able to. He is also an exceptional passer, and almost seems to glide across the pitch at times. Perhaps more of a traditional number 10, he is equally comfortable slightly deeper in midfield as well.
Since arriving in England, Silva has become part of the furniture at City. In each league campaign since 2010/11, he has notched up at least 1800 minutes. In this time, he has also never averaged less than 2 key passes per match while also averaging 1.1 dribbles per game. He has 54 goals and 83 assists in 282 league games for City, which sees him involved in a goal every 161 minutes-a figure very respectable for any top striker, let alone a midfielder. Silva was also part of the triumphant Spanish squads in the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championships.
Now nearly 34 years of age, Silva has announced his decision to leave Manchester City when his contract expires in the summer of 2020, leaving behind a trophy-laden spell and a legacy which City youngsters can look up to in the future.
Left Winger: Eden Hazard
Very few players can claim to to be considered legends at the age of 28, but Eden Hazard is one among them. His 7 years at Chelsea between 2012 and 2019 were nothing short of spectacular, and firmly put him in the 'legend' category at the club.
After a scarcely believable season at Lille in 2011/12, where he scored 20 goals and assisted a further 16 in the league alone, Hazard effectively had his pick of top clubs to join in the summer. As it happened, he chose Chelsea, who were reigning European champions at the time. And it was here that the love affair between the west London club's fans and the Belgian began.
Hazard delighted the Stamford Bridge crowd week in and week out with his dizzying array of skills, tricks and flicks which often left defenders dumbfounded, and also used his fiendish turn of pace and frightening acceleration to leave them trailing in the dust. He was just as good on his left foot as he was on his right, and this made him nearly impossible to defend against.
In his first season in England, at the age of 21, he scored 9 goals and provided 11 assists in 34 league games, but that was just the beginning. All in all, he would go on to score 85 league goals and provide 54 assists in 245 appearances in blue, being involved in a goal every 140 minutes, a superb record, including one underwhelming season in 2015/16, when, due to injury, he only managed 7 goal involvements in 31 games. Had it not been for that dip, his numbers would have been even more frightening.
He also averages 2.4 key passes per game over these seven years, and even made 100 across the 2014/15 season. He has also been able to maintain a passing success rate of 83% from an average of 42 passes per game, along with averaging over 2 shots per game as well.
In the summer of 2019, with one year left on his contract at Chelsea, Hazard finally moved to Real Madrid, after close to 3 years of speculation that a move was afoot. Now in his prime, Hazard will be hoping to get his hands on the Champions League, the only major trophy he has not won as yet.
Striker: Sergio Aguero
Henry. Shearer. Rooney. van Nistelrooy. van Persie. Drogba. Among the pantheon of Premier League greats, Sergio Aguero fits in seamlessly. Standing at just 5 feet 8 inches, Aguero is one of the more diminutive strikers to grace the Premier League. However, he is a giant in terms of stature on the football pitch.
Aguero moved from Atletico Madrid, where he was teammates with David de Gea, to Manchester City in 2011, after scoring 32 league goals across the two preceding seasons in La Liga. His first season, 2011/12, yielded a healthy return of 23 goals, with 8 assists thrown in for good measure. However, ask any Manchester City fan and they will tell you that they don't care about the other 22, just the one he scored on the final day of the season, in the 95th minute of the game against Queens Park Rangers, to deliver Manchester City's first league title since 1968. Fun fact: That goal, assisted by Mario Balotelli, turned out to be the Italian's solitary Premier League assist.
After two sub-20 goal seasons in 2012/13 and 2013/14 (he scored 17 and 12 respectively), Aguero has scored 20+ goals in each of the last five seasons. His tally in the Premier League now stands at 164 goals and 43 assists in 239 appearances, meaning he is involved in a goal every 86 minutes, a frankly ridiculous statistic. He thrives on quality service, and is an exceptional poacher (88.4% of his goals have come from inside the box). Since he arrived at the club, Aguero has scored 23.56% of City's 696 league goals, over an 8 year period. Criminally, he has never won an official Premier League player award.
Now 31, Aguero still has a lot to offer Pep Guardiola's side, and has started this season in excellent form as well, with 8 goals from his first 8 games.
Striker: Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez is player rival fans love to hate; be it the biting incidents that have dogged him throughout his career, the racism row with Manchester United's Patrice Evra, and his handball on the goal line in the 2010 World Cup for Uruguay against Ghana, it seems that Suarez and controversy are inextricably intertwined. However, one thing that cannot be debated is his ability on the football pitch.
Suarez's first foray into European football came when he made the move to FC Groningen, in Holland, from Nacional in his native Uruguay. He scored 10 goals in the 2006/07 season, prompting Ajax to sign him in the summer. His three and a half seasons with the Dutch giants saw him make 110 appearances, scoring 81 goals. Midway through the 2010/11 season, Suarez became Liverpool's record transfer, until they signed Andy Carroll just a few hours later.
Interestingly, Suarez spent 3 and a half seasons at Liverpool as well, making exactly the same number of appearances he did at Ajax, 110, while scoring 69 goals, and providing 23 assists. He averaged a ridiculous 4.9 shots per game, and a shot conversion rate of 12.52%. Like Bale, his selection in this team is not necessarily based on his longevity in the league in this decade, but his impact on it.
What Suarez is most remembered for is his other-worldly form in the 2013/14 season, where Liverpool narrowly lost out to Manchester City in the race for Premier League title. He scored 31 league goals from an average of 5.5 shots per game, including 7 from outside the penalty area, as well as setting up 12 goals for his teammates. He also averaged 2.4 successful dribbles per game and laid on 2.7 key passes per game, numbers which were, at the time, on par with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo.
Suarez moved to Barcelona in 2014, to form the famed attacking 'MSN' trident, alongside Messi and Neymar. He is still at the club now, at the age of 32, and has already scored 10 goals for the 2019/20 season.
