1 Arsenal Player Whose FIFA 16 Stats Overestimate Him

Every year, Arsenal fans eagerly wait to see how their favourite players will rate on the latest edition of FIFA. It’s natural that fans will want to play computer games as the team closest to their heart, and inevitably they hope that their favourite players’ abilities will be accurately reflected in EA’s stats. 

However, every season there is a surprise: a player whose numbers belie his true abilities. The number bods behind the scenes at FIFA seem to overestimate the skills of a couple of players season on season.

One such candidate this year is Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard is regularly criticised by the Arsenal fanbase for being of insufficient calibre to provide reliable for Francis Coquelin. However, his overall rating in FIFA 16 is 81. To put that in context, that means he matches the overall assessment of England internationals Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere. Most confusingly, it puts him above Francis Coquelin, who is rated at just 78. 

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

However, a closer look at Arteta’s stats excuse EA’s assessment. For starters, his potential in career mode is capped at 81, whereas Coquelin has room to improve a level of 84. Furthermore, Arteta’s overall rating is heavily skewed by his admittedly excellent ball skills. For example, he has a long-passing rating of 84, while his vision is set at 81.

Yet there is balance across his stats. The game has recognised his physical deficiencies, setting his pace at a sloth-like 43. A strength rating of 61 also shows that FIFA 16 reflects some of Arteta’s shortcomings.

So, who is the most overrated member of the Arsenal squad? Well, on the current form it has to be France international full-back Mathieu Debuchy.

Darko Bandic/Associated Press

Debuchy’s overall rating stands at 80. At the time the game was being developed, that may have seemed reasonable. However, the Frenchman seems to be enduring a period of decline, and his statistics now seem very generous indeed.

Injuries ravaged the Frenchman across last season, and on the evidence of his recent outings against Dinamo Zagreb and Tottenham, he is yet to recapture the form that convinced Arsene Wenger to sign him from Newcastle as Bacary Sagna’s replacement.

Joseph Nair/Associated Press

Having turned 30 this summer, Debuchy might have to consider the possibility that he is now in decline. He looks to have lost a yard of pace, and his positional radar appears to require some serious retuning.

As such, his FIFA 16 stats seem unduly charitable. His overall rating of 80 places him level with Nacho Monreal, but the Spaniard’s recent performances far outstrip those of Debuchy. A marking stat of 80 seems very kind given that, in his last first-team appearance at White Hart Lane, Debuchy was consistently drawn infield and left the left-winger free to wreak havoc.

His attacking play is overrated, too. Debuchy has a crossing stat of 80, while his replacement in the first-team, youngster Hector Bellerin, is only permitted a mark of 70. Given the Spaniard’s excellent delivery, that disparity is difficult to justify. 

If EA were to be readjust the stats now, one can bet that Debuchy's numbers would be reined in. The makers of the game clearly did not anticipate the rapid nature of his decline. 

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.