Premier League Player Rankings: Aguero Out, Lukaku Down, Kane Up, New No. 1
The final Premier League gameweek before the international break threw up performances of all varieties. There were some stonking matches (like Liverpool's collapse at Southampton), some landmark-breaching showings (like Harry Kane's against AFC Bournemouth) and some downright awful spectacles, like the Manchester derby.
There are a couple of big movers this week on the back of stupendous displays, and we also have a new No. 1, with Tottenham Hotspur's Mousa Dembele lasting just a week on his perch.
The rankings are based on players' last six games, with slightly more emphasis placed on their most recent outing.
Only Premier League performances are counted, and one-week wonders do not find their way in. That said, if, for example, Sergio Aguero returns from injury and excels in four straight games, he will find his way in—if a player plays very well, they can cut the queue.
We look beyond the statistical measures and into the performance, reviewing tape and gauging impact.
It's not just goals, assists and heroic clearances that impress. It's about how a player contributes to the tactical plan at hand and what impact he has over a 90-minute period.
Take a look and see if you agree with our selections, and if you feel like we've missed anyone, let us know in the comments section below.
Dropping out / Honourable Mentions
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Dropping Out
Ross Barkley, Everton: Ross Barkley been a star performer for much of the season, but he's faded recently.
Sergio Aguero, Manchester City: Sergio Aguero's form has dipped, and Sunday's derby saw it all go wrong for him in front of goal.
Honourable Mentions
Emre Can, Liverpool
Giannelli Imbula, Stoke City
Cheikhou Kouyate, West Ham United
20. Danny Drinkwater, Leicester City
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Last Week: Unranked (New!)
Danny Drinkwater enters the ranking as he peaks into form at just the right time. Steadily, as the season has worn on, all of Leicester City's unsung heroes have come to the fore—a point brilliantly illustrated by uMAXit Football's Alex Keble—and now it's this Englishman's turn.
He celebrated his senior international call-up with a brilliant display, working typically hard in a two-man midfield, defending diligently and providing a slick through-ball for Riyad Mahrez's only goal of the game.
19. Michail Antonio, West Ham United
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Last Week: 19th
We have nothing but appreciation and sympathy for Michail Antonio this week.
He worked his socks off out of position at right-back and coped superbly...until the referee judged him to have tripped Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the box and awarded a penalty—a very contentious decision. Contact looked to be just outside.
Otherwise, he got up and down well, provided a direct threat overlapping and contributed heavily to West Ham United's excellent showing.
18. Romelu Lukaku, Everton
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Last Week: 13th (-5)
Romelu Lukaku disappointed heavily this weekend, failing to get himself into the game against Arsenal.
Gabriel and Laurent Koscielny did well to nullify him, admittedly, and BT Sport showed at full-time how the Belgian had had the least touches of any outfield player on the day. The Toffees lost the midfield battle, so the service was not forthcoming.
Still, a player of Lukaku's power and ability should be able to force his way into proceedings. One good run in the second half aside, he did not.
17. Gylfi Sigurdsson, Swansea City
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Last Week: Unranked (New!)
Swansea City will contest 2016-17 in the Premier League despite a tumultuous campaign stained by the legitimate fear of relegation. The reason? Largely, it's Gylfi Sigurdsson.
The Swans have departed from their core values of pass-and-move football this season but have, since the turn of the year, conjured enough individual moments of quality to bail themselves out. Generally, it has been their Icelandic midfielder providing them.
An example of that came this weekend: Swansea were outplayed by 20th-placed Aston Villa for long periods on their own patch but won 1-0 thanks to a Federico Fernandez header from a beautiful Sigurdsson free-kick.
16. Diego Costa, Chelsea
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Last Week: 15th (-1)
Diego Costa did not play in Chelsea's 2-2 draw with West Ham. His energy and goalscoring ability was missed.
15. Virgil Van Dijk, Southampton
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Last Week: 15th (-5)
Virgil van Dijk moves down five spots this week—partially because he disappointed at the weekend, partially because a few below him have surged upward.
He played his part—as did all the defence—in the first half capitulation, and one mazy run from him out of defence that saw him lose the ball put Saints in a perilous situation. He also probably should have scored in the first half with a free header from a set piece.
Things improved in the second half, of course, but this was far from vintage Van Dijk.
14. Wes Morgan, Leicester City
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Last Week: 18th (+4)
Wes Morgan loves games like the one he played in on Saturday. When he gets to sit in and defend the box, pumping balls clear with his head, he seems at his happiest.
Leicester City's win over Crystal Palace on Saturday required quite a bit of defensive work in the latter stages, and Morgan obliged, clearing most deliveries into the box. They got a bit lucky when Damien Delaney smacked the bar late on, but another clean sheet win means three more points in the title charge.
13. Dimitri Payet, West Ham
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Last Week: 17th (+4)
Dimitri Payet was excellent on Saturday and was very unfortunate not to have made it into our Premier League Team of the Week.
He caused Branislav Ivanovic all sorts of issues down the flank, provided an assist for Manuel Lanzini's superb opening goal and played an extremely dangerous ball into the box that John Terry had to clear else it would have been tapped home.
He'll now spend some time with the France national squad after finally breaching Didier Deschamps' setup.
12. Roberto Firmino, Liverpool
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Last Week: 8th (-4)
Roberto Firmino missed Liverpool's remarkable collapse at St Mary's Stadium due to a hamstring issue.
11. Willian, Chelsea
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Last Week: 9th (-2)
This wasn't the Willian we know and love.
The Brazilian recently admitted he was struggling to find motivation due to the fact Chelsea are not involved in the Premier League title race (and have been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League), according to Goal's Stefan Coerts. It showed in his play on Saturday.
To be fair, he also looks knackered, but on the ball, he was nowhere near as penetrative and quick-thinking as usual.
10. Christian Eriksen, Tottenham Hotspur
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Last Week: 11th (+1)
There were a number of plus-points for Christian Eriksen fans to chew over on Sunday, and the Dane moves back into the top 10 after a good performance against AFC Bournemouth.
His goal was opportunistic and well-deserved, his set pieces improved (in comparison to recent weeks) and his usual energy and mobility seemed to return. In short, he looked a bit more like Christian Eriksen again.
9. Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea
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Last Week: 12th (+3)
Cesc Fabregas was far from perfect against West Ham on Saturday, but you really can't argue with his end-product. Two goals, both from losing positions, earned his team a perhaps undeserved draw.
After Willian's failure to score from a set piece in 2016, duties were returned to Fabregas, and he duly stuck one in the top corner. He also netted a late penalty in a cool and calm manner to snatch a late point for his club.
8. Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur
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Last Week: 14th (+6)
So much for Harry Kane being a one-season wonder, eh?
He netted his 20th and 21st goals of the campaign this weekend, breaching the fabled 20-goal mark for a second straight season in league play, putting him in some rather esteemed company. We're talking Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and only a few others (in the modern era).
His overall performance against AFC Bournemouth, goals aside, was dominant. Big, strong, target-man play led to midfield rotations and slick combinations.
7. Toby Alderweireld, Tottenham Hotspur
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Last Week: 5th (-2)
We feel bad for moving Toby Alderweireld down after keeping a clean sheet, but the truth is, he wasn't really tested, and there were two players just below him who deserved to move up.
The Belgian has kept both Aston Villa and AFC Bournemouth at bay in consecutive weeks, though those are two teams who have either given up or have very little left to play for.
6. Mesut Ozil, Arsenal
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Last Week: 6th
Mesut Ozil stays in sixth after a good—not great—performance against Everton.
He showed some nice touches, played a part in Danny Welbeck's marvellous opening goal with an outside-of-the-boot pass and helped Arsenal achieve domination in midfield over a distinctly average opponent.
He wasn't the best of the lot, though, with three or four others in gold and blue surpassing him in the man-of-the-match stakes.
5. Dele Alli, Tottenham Hotspur
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Last Week: 7th (+2)
"Dele Alli has provided the most assists (seven) to a single scorer (Kane) than any duo in Europe's top five leagues," tweeted Hotspur Lane on Tuesday. The statistic stands outright, tangible proof of a wonderful partnership between two players.
Alli started the season in deep midfield but was pushed forward by Mauricio Pochettino, and he now seems to play there even when logic dictates he drop back (due to injury). Recently, we've even seen Christian Eriksen drop into holding midfield instead of him.
This partnership, and its resulting production, is why.
4. N'Golo Kante, Leicester City
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Last Week: 3rd (-1)
The aforementioned, 20th-placed Danny Drinkwater was the star for Leicester City on Saturday. For once, N'Golo Kante wasn't the man standing out in central midfield.
He was still good, though. He may not have played the killer ball for the goal, but he defended willingly and got through a fair amount of work. The gap between Riyad Mahrez and Danny Simpson was large due to the former pushing high, and Kante and Co. did a good job filling it.
3. Jamie Vardy, Leicester City
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Last Week: 2nd (-1)
Despite assisting the winning goal for Leicester City against Crystal Palace, Jamie Vardy was a little quiet. That one moment of quality helped make the difference, but his overall showing wasn't what we've come to expect.
It was Riyad Mahrez who ran in behind and worked the defence with his directness, forcing Palace into evasive measures that included trying to double-mark him and block passes to him. Usually Vardy is a terror, but here, he seemed subdued.
That said, his ball across the box for Mahrez to convert was clever. It reeked of chemistry between the two players, and it helped attain three points.
2. Mousa Dembele, Tottenham Hotspur
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Last Week: 1st (-1)
Mousa Dembele has been knocked off top spot this week, slipping to second despite not doing an awful lot wrong. In fact, he can consider himself quite unlucky to have been ousted.
The Belgian was all the things you've come to expect: strong in possession, able to dictate play from a deeper position and willing to quash counter-attacks if need be. The problem is he played the match at half-speed because that's all that was needed; he didn't shine because he didn't have to or wasn't asked to.
1. Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City
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Last Week: 4th (+3)
Welcome to the summit, Riyad Mahrez. It's been a long time—months, in fact—since he's been here, but he's earned his position at the top of the tree.
The Algerian once again proved the match-winner as he slotted home at Selhurst Park to give Leicester City a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, converting Jamie Vardy's ball across the box. He has now scored 16 goals and assisted 11 in league play, per WhoScored.com.
His overall showing was so strong, so irresistible, that Alan Pardew's men attempted to double mark him, and the ploy still failed.
