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The extravaganza that is the Premier League is back in action and we cannot stop smiling. After all, it's time our favourite players pulled on the beloved jerseys of our clubs and gave us some much-needed respite from lack of club football.
Football fans across the globe largely associate their chances of success at the abilities of their number strikers. However, a world class striker can be rendered useless without a creative lynchpin behind him pulling the right strings and initiating the right moves.
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With creativity oozing through the pores of most stadiums across England, we are definitely in for another 10 months of creative flicks, defence-splitting passes and inch perfect.
While a player is considered good if he can consistently perform through a season, great players can remain consistent season after season. In this segment, we take a look at 5 great players who have raked in the highest number of assists in the league since its inception.
#5 Wayne Rooney- 94 assists in 435 games
While the Manchester United captain has built a reputation for himself as a goal-scoring machine, having scored 262 goals in 598 appearances, there is another aspect of his game that deserves as much mention as his goal scoring prowess, his ability to create goals.
“The White Pele” has shown a penchant for creating time and space for his teammates and has been duly rewarded with a place amongst the top 5 most creative players in the league of all times.
Rooney, a creative, energetic forward who can turn a game’s course on its head has been a vital player at Old Trafford ever since making his move from Everton and has been duly rewarded with 5 Premier League titles.
The 30-year-old was his side’s second most creative player in the 2015-16 season, having created 42 chances and will be hoping to break into the three figures mark by the end of the current season.
However, it remains to be seen if Jose Mourinho will play him high up the pitch or in the middle of the park to add some much-needed balance to his line-up, a move that could curtail Rooney’s creative instincts for the greater benefit of the side.
#4 Dennis Bergkamp- 94 assists in 315 appearances
At number 4 is the “Non-flying Dutchman” who captured the imagination of premier league faithful worldwide with his elegant displays during the 11 seasons he spent in England.
Described as a dream for any striker by the prolific Thierry Henry, Bergkamp initially began his career as a wide midfielder at Ajax. However, it was not long before his coaches realised that he would be devastatingly effective if he plied his trade in the spine of the unit and soon he was promoted to the coveted number 10 role.
Not short on creativity, the former Arsenal player caused mayhem amongst the opposition defenders with his performances and remains one of the best players to have featured in England.
With 94 assists in 315 appearances, Bergkamp possesses an impressive game per assist record of 3.35 games per assist. Despite having played in a side which featured the likes of Thierry Henry and Patrick Vierra, the Dutchman was a fan favourite and was the key to Arsenal’s success during his decade-long tenure in England.
His ability to turn up game after game and season after season with quality performances have definitely etched his name in the footballing folklore of England.
#3 Cesc Fabregas- 95 assists in 283 Games
The Spanish superstar, who began his senior footballing career in England with Arsenal in the 2003-04 season has been hailed for his ability to visualise and execute a pass most players in the English top flight would find tough to thread in their life time.
Despite having a rather ordinary 2015-16 season, Fabregas managed to become the 3rd highest assists provider in the history of the Premier League when he provided a hat trick of assists against Bournemouth in April, jumping ahead of Wayne Rooney and Dennis Bergkamp on the all-time assist providers list.
He also holds the best assists per game ratio amongst the top 5 assists providers with an assist every 3 games.
Possessing a passing range like few players in England do, Fabregas is a canny customer to handle for defenders with his intricate passing and understanding of the game and is a menace to handle when in full flow. His ability to dictate the tempo of the game further strengthens his case as one of the top playmakers in the league of all times.
Under Antonio Conte, Chelsea will be hoping to recover their form and the Spaniard, who also holds the all-time assists record at the European Championships, will be crucial to his side’s fortunes, given the lack of other creative options in the middle of the park for the club.
#2 Frank Lampard- 102 assists in 618 appearances
Football can often throw up surprises and Frank Lampard’s success as a footballer can be termed as one. Having risen through the ranks at West Ham United, Lampard was considered just another average footballer.
A move to Chelsea in 2001 proved to be the turning point in his career as he not only established himself as one of the best midfielders in England, he also established himself as one of the greatest Chelsea players of all time.
Only the 2nd player ever to have broken past the 100 assists mark, Lampard was critical to his side’s rise to the top of English football and was a name that constantly drew concern lines across the opposition manager’s forehead.
A box-to-box midfielder who could also ply his trade as an attacking midfielder, Lampard had a penchant for providing inch perfect crosses and threading defence splitting passes before the defenders knew what had hit them.
Given that he was often deployed as a central midfielder, the credentials of Lampard as one of the best midfielders to have ever played in the Premier League are further substantiated by the 258 goals he scored apart from the century of assists he raked in.
#1 Ryan Giggs- 162 assists in 632 appearances
Ryan Giggs, the most decorated player in the league’s history holds the record for most assists provided, with a whopping 162 assists in 632 appearances, a dominating lead of 60 assists over his closest rival Frank Lampard. The fleet-footed winger spent his entire footballing career at the Old Trafford, giving his oppositions nightmares with his deft displays.
After having made his debut in the 1990-91 season, Giggs established himself as one of the first players on the team list in the subsequent season and never looked back thereafter, winning trophies and accolades galore.
The Welshman played a critical role under the aegis of Sir Alex Fergusson and helped his side achieve footballing supremacy in England by knocking Liverpool off the perch. His blistering pace, dribbling ability and ability to find teammates in critical areas with a phenomenal passing range made him a treat to watch, with even fans of arch rival clubs hoping they had a player of Giggs calibre in their midst.
With neither of the players in the current top 5 assists providers of all times even close to the record of Ryan Giggs, we perceive it would take an inhuman ability and consistency to break the record of the legendary Welshman.
