There has always been debate among fans and in the media of who is better than who in the midfield in the Premier League.
Years back it was among English midfielders Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerard and after Scholes retirement the comparison between Lampard and Gerard was fierce until they both departed for the MLS.
Recently it has been between Liverpool Philippe Coutinho and Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil. The pair has been in scintillating for their respective clubs. The Red Devils condemned the Gunners to a 4-3 defeat on the opening of the season at the Emirates stadium and are currently top of the table with 26 points while Arsenal are fourth with 24 points.
Comparing their performances so far this season Coutinho, 24 appears better than Ozil, 28. Coutinho was on fire during the weekend in the 6-1 win over Watford that shot them to the top of the table, scored one goal and assisted another.
Attacking players are always judged by their end product. In goals scored, Coutinho leads having scored 5 goals in ten starts while Ozil has three goals in nine starts. The German World Cup winner had 19 assists than any other player in the Premier League last season but has only managed one this season while Coutinho is flying high with five assists already.
And still on their creativity, Coutinho leads, having created 25 chances to Ozil’s 22. The Red Devil playmakers has 713 touches in the league this year while Ozil has 685 touches but the former Real Madrid man boast of 42 more successful passes, 474 than his rival.
Also, Ozil is yet to match Coutinho in defence. The latter has made 15 tackles and recovered the ball 49 times for his team while Ozil can only both of 5 and 36 respectively in those areas.
The above statistics shows Coutinho is ahead of Ozil and it is left to him to see if he can keep it up as the title race heats up.