The 2016/17 season has been a fantastic season for Chelsea so far. Following a 3-0 drubbing by Arsenal at the end of September, a change in formation has seen Chelsea go 13 games unbeaten, managing 10 clean sheets along the way.
The main reason behind this defensive success has been a switch to three at the back, with David Luiz, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta solidifying themselves as the most fearsome defensive line-up in the Premier League, along with wing-backs Marcos Alonso and prodigal son Victor Moses.
While there is no doubt that both Luiz and Cahill have been near faultless in a run that has seen them concede just four goals in over 1170 minutes of football, it is their Spanish counterpart, Azpilicueta that has caught my attention most of all.
Firstly, unlike Cahill and Luiz, Azpiliueta is not a centre-back by trade. Arguably he was only taken out of full-back due to an injury to club captain John Terry, yet he has never looked more at home.
Statistically, he is quite simply astounding. With an average of 2.6 successful tackles per game, he makes more than Cahill (1.3) and Luiz (1.2) combined.
In terms of interceptions per games, he is way ahead of the pack with 2.1 per game in comparison to Cahill’s and Luiz’s 1.4 and 1.2 respectively.
On the ball provides the same result. Azpilicueta has a higher pass completion rate than Cahill, Luiz, Alonso or Moses. He also attempts more passes than the other four.
Perhaps, most surprisingly, he has more touches and completes more passes in the opposition half than any of the other four as well.
Combine all these stats with the fact that he plays with a smile on his face whilst quietly and unassumingly going about his job superbly and you have the makings of a world class defender. All of this has left me wondering; why does no one seem to notice?
Many will talk about the transformation of Luiz, the return of supposed reject Moses or the form of a player plucked from relative obscurity; Alonso.
Pundits are talking about how surprised they are at how well Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones have performed together, and how Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderwerield are such good passers of the ball. Yet none of the above possesses the all-round game of the aforementioned Azpilicueta.
So I say it’s time to appreciate the man known affectionately by fans as ‘Dave.’
For me, the most underrated player in the Premier League and certainly the most underrated defender.
If any striker was one on one with any Chelsea defender, I would want it to be Azpilicueta, and I feel that he is exactly who Sergio Aguero, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Harry Kane would least like to be up against.
