EPL100: Ranking of Premier League’s Best Players After Matchday 9
The Premier League returned to our screens this weekend with its usual blend of drama and panache. We began with an explosive encounter between Chelsea and Manchester United, continued through goalfests in Manchester and Cardiff and concluded with yet another Arsenal win.
To help you chew over all the action and assess how every team and player got on, B/R returns with another season of the EPL100, ranking the best players in the Premier League by position.
Only performances in the 2018-19 Premier League season affect this ranking. Reputations, cup performances and European showings matter not.
To be eligible, players need to have started at least 50 per cent of the games—so, in this case, five out of nine (or more). That means Leroy Sane and Lucas Torreira still aren't eligible, but should they start next week, they'll finally come in.
Players who have appeared in multiple positions (example: Bernardo Silva) are categorized by the spot they've played most. If those values are level, they fall into the category they played most recently.
Goalkeepers
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None of our top three excelled this week, so it's as you were for them. That said, it should be noted Joe Hart did about as well as could be expected against Manchester City's onslaught and did produce two great saves.
Hugo Lloris enters the rankings and jumps in at No. 4, now eligible having started enough games. His positive, brave goalkeeping during the closing stages of Tottenham's win over West Ham ensured three points were secured.
Saturday evening's game offered a snapshot of the kind of dilemma we're faced with on a weekly basis with the goalkeepers: Alisson Becker kept a clean sheet, sure, but he was actually forced to do very little. One good save, one good claim, not much in the way of distribution, and he was beaten for Jonathan Hogg's strike that smacked the post. How do you grade that performance?
Biggest rise: Hugo Lloris (New!)
Biggest fall: Lukasz Fabianski (-3)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Rui Patricio (Stay) | Wolves |
| 2 | Joe Hart (Stay) | Burnley |
| 3 | Martin Dubravka (Stay) | Newcastle |
| 4 | Hugo Lloris (New!) | Tottenham |
| 5 | Alex McCarthy (Stay) | Southampton |
| 6 | Alisson Becker (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 7 | Lukasz Fabianski (-3) | West Ham |
| 8 | Ederson Moraes (-1) | Manchester City |
| 9 | David de Gea (Stay) | Manchester United |
| 10 | Neil Etheridge (Stay) | Cardiff City |
Right-Backs/Right Wing-Backs
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Matt Doherty did not play well against Watford, but at least he picked a good weekend to drop his level. Those who were in a position to potentially overtake him—Kyle Walker and Cesar Azpilicueta—either didn't play or didn't play well.
The excitement in this section can be found at the bottom, where Hector Bellerin's confusing two-assist, one-own goal performance nets him sixth, and Adam Smith's second straight clean sheet lifts him into 10th.
Smith is actually deputising at left-back at the moment, but he has played more minutes on the right overall, so he enters this section.
Biggest rise: Hector Bellerin (+2)
Biggest fall: Pablo Zabaleta, Daryl Janmaat (-1)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Matt Doherty (Stay) | Wolves |
| 2 | Kyle Walker (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Cesar Azpilicueta (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Trent Alexander-Arnold (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 5 | Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Stay) | Crystal Palace |
| 6 | Hector Bellerin (+2) | Arsenal |
| 7 | Pablo Zabaleta (-1) | West Ham |
| 8 | Daryl Janmaat (-1) | Watford |
| 9 | Kieran Trippier (Stay) | Tottenham |
| 10 | Adam Smith (New!) | Bournemouth |
Left-Backs/Left Wing-Backs
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It was hardly a classic Benjamin Mendy performance on Saturday. He actually spent quite a lot of time in central midfield positions, but in the end, the result was the same: clean sheet, assist.
He moves up into third, swapping with Jonny, who endured a torrid afternoon against Watford. The Spaniard was substituted at half-time on Saturday with his club two goals down.
Lucas Digne's strong recent form lifts him into the top 10.
Biggest rise: Benjamin Mendy, Luke Shaw (+2)
Biggest fall: Jonny, Nacho Monreal (-2)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Marcos Alonso (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 2 | Andrew Robertson (+1) | Liverpool |
| 3 | Benjamin Mendy (+2) | Manchester City |
| 4 | Jose Holebas (Stay) | Watford |
| 5 | Jonny (-2) | Wolves |
| 6 | Ben Chilwell (Stay) | Leicester City |
| 7 | Luke Shaw (+2) | Manchester United |
| 8 | Danny Rose (-1) | Tottenham |
| 9 | Lucas Digne (New!) | Everton |
| 10 | Nacho Monreal (-2) | Arsenal |
Centre-Backs
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Joe Gomez was the best player on the pitch as Liverpool beat Huddersfield Town on Saturday, but even with that performance in the bag, it'd still be a bold call to suggest he's been better than Virgil van Dijk this season.
Michael Keane was stellar for Everton once more, adding a tidy assist to a dominant defensive performance, while for the first time in a while, the Wolves trio of Conor Coady, Ryan Bennett and Willy Boly trend the wrong way.
Issa Diop was great against Tottenham despite ending up on the losing end. He re-enters our top 20.
Biggest rise: John Stones, Kurt Zouma (+3)
Biggest fall: Federico Fernandez (-4)
Defensive Midfielders/Central Midfielders
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Bernardo Silva's goal and general good performance keeps him on top of this ranking, while David Silva's pair of assists move him into second. They've been a ferocious combination these past few months, but what will become of it now that Kevin De Bruyne is back fit?
Etienne Capoue's rasping strike against Wolves wasn't the only highlight of his performance; his defensive and on-ball work was great too, making him the clear Man of the Match. He's been the best destructive midfielder in the league this season.
With Ilkay Gundogan and Naby Keita removed from this section due to not starting enough games, we're a little thin on quality toward the back end. That explains Jean Michael Seri's rise and Jonjo Shelvey's inclusion—though the latter did play well against Brighton.
Biggest rise: Etienne Capoue (+7)
Biggest fall: James Milner (-5)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Bernardo Silva (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 2 | David Silva (+2) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Mateo Kovacic (+3) | Chelsea |
| 4 | Etienne Capoue (+7) | Watford |
| 5 | Joao Moutinho (-3) | Wolves |
| 6 | Ruben Neves (-1) | Wolves |
| 7 | Fernandinho (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 8 | James Milner (-5) | Liverpool |
| 9 | Georginio Wijnaldum (Stay) | Liverpool |
| 10 | Jorginho (-2) | Chelsea |
| 11 | Idrissa Gueye (+3) | Everton |
| 12 | N'Golo Kante (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 13 | Abdoulaye Doucoure (+3) | Watford |
| 14 | Declan Rice (-2) | West Ham |
| 15 | Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (New!) | Southampton |
| 16 | Jean Michael Seri (+1) | Fulham |
| 17 | Jonjo Shelvey (New!) | Newcastle |
| 18 | Aaron Mooy (Stay) | Huddersfield Town |
| 19 | Philip Billing (Stay) | Huddersfield Town |
| 20 | Nampalys Mendy (New!) | Leicester City |
Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
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We need to talk about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The quickest player to 15 Premier League goals in Arsenal history, beating Thierry Henry by eight games, he delivered a brilliant performance off the bench on Monday night.
He doesn't always play well in an overall sense—particularly if he's given a wing role from the start—but he's an elite finisher, so he will make the difference where it really counts. His conversion rate is currently 30 percent, which is nuts.
Roberto Pereyra was due a good week and he had one, netting a beautiful goal against Wolves, while David Brooks is unlucky to move quite so far down. The fact Eddie Howe substituted him so early contributed to that.
Biggest rise: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (New!)
Biggest fall: David Brooks (-10)
| Rank | Player | Club |
| 1 | Eden Hazard (Stay) | Chelsea |
| 2 | Raheem Sterling (Stay) | Manchester City |
| 3 | Richarlison (Stay) | Everton |
| 4 | Ryan Fraser (Stay) | Bournemouth |
| 5 | Gylfi Sigurdsson (Stay) | Everton |
| 6 | Roberto Pereyra (+8) | Watford |
| 7 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (New!) | Arsenal |
| 8 | J.B. Gudmundsson (-2) | Burnley |
| 9 | James Maddison (-1) | Leicester City |
| 10 | Andre Schurrle (-1) | Fulham |
| 11 | Mohamed Salah (+2) | Liverpool |
| 12 | Josh Murphy (New!) | Cardiff City |
| 13 | Willian (+2) | Chelsea |
| 14 | Lucas Moura (-4) | Tottenham |
| 15 | Sadio Mane (-3) | Liverpool |
| 16 | Will Hughes (+3) | Watford |
| 17 | David Brooks (-10) | Bournemouth |
| 18 | Theo Walcott (-2) | Everton |
| 19 | Helder Costa (-1) | Wolves |
| 20 | Felipe Anderson (-3) | West Ham |
Strikers
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Finally, a change at the top! Sergio Aguero nips in ahead of Alexandre Lacazette this week. Both played well, but one scored and, well, one didn't.
Troy Deeney moves up one despite not playing. If you're looking for an indication of how disappointing Raul Jimenez was, this is it.
Quality performances in this position were hard to come by this week, with Glenn Murray sustaining an injury, Roberto Firmino only featuring from the bench and Marko Arnautovic missing a big chance to get West Ham a point.
Biggest rise: Sergio Aguero, Troy Deeney, Aleksandar Mitrovic (+1)
Biggest fall: Alexandre Lacazette, Raul Jimenez, Marko Arnautovic (-1)
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
