Nostalgia might tell us dribbling is a less-treasured skill than it used to be, but there are still plenty in the Premier League who’ve made it a central part of their game.
It’s not an uncommon perception that modern football is less defined by dribblers and exciting individual skill than it used to be.
Certainly, there is evidence the game is more focused on the collective and there’s an argument this has therefore stifled some aspects of individuality – but to say there’s no place for dribblers in football these days simply isn’t the case.
The Premier League has plenty of players who are willing dribblers, capable of getting bums off seats and tying defenders in knots, and these talents will always be appreciated for their entertainment factor.
But there are numerous ways of looking at these sorts of players and their abilities. Some are high-volume dribblers who always try to beat their man, others are especially effective at creating tangible danger by taking on a defender.
Here, we assess the outputs of the Premier League’s most notable dribblers this season and attempt to understand who are the most effective.
Who Are the Most Prolific Dribblers?
First of all, the metric we’ll be looking at the most here is ‘take-ons’, where a take-on is defined as a player attempting to move around a defender while in possession of the ball.
Understandably, there’s going to be a considerable amount of focus on attacking players, but that comes with the territory.
An obvious place to start is with those who try their luck the most, not that the names will be particularly surprising.
Jérémy Doku has tallied more take-on attempts (125) than any other player in the Premier League this term, ahead of Mohammed Kudus (112), Yankuba Minteh (110), Jarrod Bowen (102) and Morgan Rogers (101) as the five with 100+.
But Doku’s output becomes even more notable when you consider that his total minutes played (1,187) is actually only equivalent to about 13.2 matches. Unsurprisingly, then, he’s also well out in front when it comes to take-on attempts per 90 minutes (9.5), with Fulham’s Kevin (8.9, from 860 mins) his closest challenger.
If we only look at those who’ve played at least 1,000 minutes this term, Kudus – who was ruled out until April last month – rises up to second behind Doku on 6.5 take-on attempts per 90, highlighting the kind of individual quality Tottenham have been – and continue to be – without.
It’s one thing attempting to beat your man, however. It’s another to consistently get past them.
Here, we’re looking only at players to have attempted at least 30 take-ons; it’s a semi-arbitrary number, granted, but it gives us a solid list of 107 players who are all at least fairly accustomed to trying to take opponents on.
Of these 107 players, Wolves’ João Gomes is the one with the best take-on success rate this term. He’s beaten his man with 55% of his take-on attempts, putting him slightly ahead of Newcastle full-back Lewis Hall and Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze (both 54%).
Yash Thakur /Those three are among just 12 to have been successful with at least 50% of their take-on attempts, as are Florian Wirtz, Phil Foden and Hugo Ekitiké (all 51%). So that gives you some idea about how difficult it is to beat your marker more often than not.
But what about at the other end of the success scale?
The player to have the poorest take-on success rate among those to attempt at least 30 is Viktor Gyökeres; the Arsenal striker has completed just five of 33, or 15%. Marginally better than that is Igor Jesus’ 19% (6/31).
Who Dribbles in Threatening Positions?
Not all take-ons are equal.
There’s dribbling, and then there’s dribbling in impactful areas of the pitch.
Attempting to beat a defender in the opposition’s penalty area is a good indicator of a player’s character and their ability to get into dangerous positions.
No one can match Minteh for take-on attempts in the opposition’s area (27) this term, putting him five clear of Doku. The Brighton winger is a livewire and possesses the belief that he can beat anyone, while that frequency marks him out as a player of great intent.
Of his total take-ons, 27 occurring in the box equates to 24.6%. Among those with 30+ take-on attempts, 24.6% is the sixth-greatest proportion, highlighting just how much of a nuisance Minteh is to Premier League defences.
But as you’ll have noted, there are five ahead of him in that respect.
Oscar Bobb has recorded the greatest proportion of take-ons in the opposition’s area with 50% (16/32). That will be mostly influenced by him playing the majority of his football this season for Manchester City, who tend to dominate their matches and therefore provide wingers with ample opportunities to get into the penalty area.
Indeed, Bobb’s former City teammate Savinho (27.5%, 11/40) is his closest challenger in that regard, while Rayan Cherki (21.1%, 16/76) is also in the top 10.
But we should also highlight the outputs of Arsenal pair Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka. Madueke has only played 772 minutes in the Premier League this term but has attempted 59 take-ons, and 25.4% have been in the box. As for Saka, 20.5% of his 88 have been in the opposition’s area.
We can also identify players who use their dribbling abilities to drive into the box. Again, it’s not massively surprising to see Doku (15) and Minteh (11) as the top two given their overall numbers, but a couple of new names crop up next.
Amad Diallo and Georginio Rutter have each tallied 10 take-ons driving into the box, and both rank in the top three for proportion of total take-ons. The Manchester United winger (14.1%) is behind only Samuel Chukwueze (19.4%), and Rutter (13.9%) is third.
Amad’s high figures in this metric – as opposed to take-ons in the box – likely reflect the fact he’s been used as a wing-back for quite a lot of the season, meaning he’d ordinarily take up possession further from the box. Either way, his desire to penetrate the area is one aspect of Amad’s game that makes him exciting.
Who’s Provided the Most Impact With Their Dribbling?
Beyond any aesthetic or entertainment reasons, at the core of dribbling is the need to take a defender out of the game to theoretically make it easier for your team to score.
It’s very difficult to conclusively say how much of an impact take-ons have in relation to goalscoring, because who’s to say a one-on-one duel in the defensive third isn’t vital in the build-up to a goal.
But for now, we’ll just focus on take-ons that have a more direct and obvious impact before a moment of genuine threat – meaning shots or the creation of a chance.
Doku has had a significant impact. He ranks top for take-ons with a shot (11) and joint top for take-ons with a chance created (5). His combined shot-creating actions (16) following take-ons is seven more than any other Premier League player this term (Cherki – 9); Bowen, Amad and Minteh are then all on eight apiece.
The majority of their respective combined totals consist of take-ons followed by shots. Amad and Bowen are each on seven in that metric, making them the closest challengers to Doku, while Minteh is a couple behind on five.
Yash Thakur /Clearly, then, combining a take-on with either a shot or a decisive pass is something of a rarity – as such, the same is obviously true for a goal or assist after a take-on.
In fact, there have only been 21 players in the Premier League this season to score at least one goal following a take-on, and only one of them has managed more than one.
Harvey Barnes has scored twice following take-ons this term, which is an impressive feat considering he’s not among the league’s more notable dribblers.
The Newcastle winger’s 2.9 take-on attempts per 90 is a reasonable frequency, but his 25% success rate is well below the league average (36.7%). And yet, two of his 11 successful take-ons have directly yielded goals – it’s a decent return.
When we add take-ons leading to assists to the equation, there’s still no player to get beyond two this season. Barnes is joined by Kudus, Minteh, Ekitiké and Antoine Semenyo.
So yes, it might be tempting to regard the Premier League as less expressive, and maybe it is the case. But evidence suggests there’s still room for these mavericks and dribblers are still getting bums off seats – the difference now, however, is these players can be better judged by the efficiency and effectiveness of their actions rather than simply flair.
As long as there are defenders to be beaten, there shall always be an appreciation for those willing to try.
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