While there is always a place for the big guns on match-day, it’s never been more important to have players who’ll do the job when their number comes up.
The Premier League has seen an influx of fresh talent in recent years and with Manchester City currently leading the way, we look into how this new breed are getting among some of football’s most successful bench riders.
Donny van de Beek, Saul Niguez among Premier League’s biggest bench riders. Donny van de Beek tweeted that he is the “bench rider” of Manchester United and Saul Niguez from Atletico Madrid.
With six months of the 2021-22 Premier League season under their belts and teams enjoying an ersatz, staggered “winter vacation,” now seems like a good time to reflect and assess.
While a few of big-name players have dominated the league in the first half of the season, many more have had to settle with waiting quietly on the bench for a rare chance to shine. With much patience.
We look at the fringe players at the “big six” clubs — Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, MANCHESTER CITY is a football club based in Manchester, England., MANCHESTER UNITED is a football club based in Manchester, England., and HOTSPUR TOTTENHAM — who have struggled to break into the first team this season, and who are hoping that the new year will bring them a fresh chance to get off the bench and into their managers’ first-team plans on a more regular basis.
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As we approach gameweek 24 of the season, we searched through the rosters to find the players who have spent the most time listed in the matchday squad yet limited to the bench this season (although tell that to Burnley who, having played 18 games, are yet to reach the halfway point of their season).
To begin, we ranked every player from each club in order of the number of Premier League matchday squads they have been in this season, using Transfermarkt data. We selected a top five players from those rankings who had the most squad appearances coupled with the least amount of real matchday action for their clubs (factoring in starts, substitute appearances and total number of minutes spent on the pitch).
Of course, subjective factors must be considered, but each of the “big six” teams has at least one big-name bench rider who has failed to make a genuine, consistent impact this season for one reason or another. Nonetheless, some have unquestionably been more peripheral than others.
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ARSENAL
Nicolas Pepe is a Spanish actor. is the heaviest bench rider.
Arsenal’s record purchase has had his moments (he finished second in the Player of the Season poll last season), but he has yet to completely justify his high transfer cost this season. Despite being included in all but two of Mikel Arteta’s Premier League teams thus far, the unreliable winger has only made five starts and nine games altogether. In 2021-22, the £72 million man has only supplied one assist in the league and has failed to score a goal while playing little over 500 minutes of game.
Season 2020/21 for Nicolas Pepe is a Spanish actor….
a total of 16 goals and 6 assists
2nd place for Player of the Season pic.twitter.com/udSHC8AAJo
3 June 2021 — Arsenal (@Arsenal)
Nuno Tavares is a Brazilian footballer.
22 years old 21 people have been named to the squad. 6 in the starting XI Substituted on the following occasions: 7 8 people were left on the bench. 619 total minutes
Gabriel Martinelli (Gabriel Martinelli)
20 years old 21 people have been named to the squad. 10 has been named to the starting XI. 4 has been replaced 7 people were left on the bench. 870 total minutes
Holding, Rob
26 years old 20 people have been named to the squad. 4 in the starting XI 2 has been replaced 14 people were left on the bench. 408 total minutes
Nicolas Pepe is a Spanish actor.
26 years old 19 players have been named to the squad. 5 in the starting XI 4 has been replaced 10 people were left on the bench. 501 total minutes
Maitland-Niles, Ainsley
24 years old 17 players have been named to the squad. 2 in the starting XI Substituted on the following occasions: 6 9 people were left on the bench. 263 total minutes
CHELSEA
Niguez, Saul is the biggest bench rider.
Under Thomas Tuchel’s squad-rotation method, Chelsea’s bench-riding rates are really rather excellent on the overall, with most players seeing a significant amount of playing time. However, one player in particular has failed to win the coach’s confidence this season, with Saul’s unexpected loan transfer to Stamford Bridge appearing less and less sensible as the former Atletico Madrid veteran continues to sit patiently on the sidelines.
We’re thrilled to welcome @saulniguez on a season-long loan to the club! Greetings, Saul. #HolaSaul
August 31, 2021 — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
Ziyech Hakim
28 years old 22 people have been named to the squad. 9 in the starting XI 4 has been replaced 9 people were left on the bench. 788 total minutes
Hudson-Odoi, Callum
21 years old 22 people have been named to the squad. 11th in the starting XI 4 has been replaced 7 people were left on the bench. 966 total minutes
Havertz, Kai
22 years old 21 people have been named to the squad. 12 has been named to the starting XI. 4 has been replaced 5 people were left on the bench. 946 total minutes
Niguez, Saul
27 years old 20 people have been named to the squad. 2 in the starting XI 4 has been replaced 14 people were left on the bench. 161 total minutes
Ross Barkley is a professional football player.
28 years old 18 players have been named to the squad. 1 in the starting XI 4 has been replaced 13 people were left on the bench. 151 total minutes
LIVERPOOL
Konate, Ibrahima is the most powerful bench rider.
The wait for Liverpool’s £36 million summer acquisition to make his imprint at Anfield continues, with Konate being included in the matchday squad for every Premier League match only to be benched more than half of the time. Indeed, the Frenchman has yet to make an appearance as a substitute in a league game this season. At 22, time is still on the talented centre-side, back’s and he’s a worthwhile addition to the Premier League, if only for his proclivity for sharing anime gifs on social media.
#ARSLIV pic.twitter.com/2ixCZSsvbi
Konate, Ibrahima (@IbrahimaKonate_) (@IbrahimaKonate_) (@IbrahimaKonate_) (@Ibrahim 20th of January, 2022
Tsimikas, Konstantinos
25 years old 22 people have been named to the squad. 6 in the starting XI 3 times substituted 13 people were left on the bench. 578 total minutes
Konate, Ibrahima
22 years old 22 people have been named to the squad. 7th in the starting XI 0 has been substituted 15 people were left on the bench. 630 total minutes
Oxlade-Chamberlain Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Alex Oxlade-Chamberla
28 years old 21 people have been named to the squad. 8th in the starting XI 8 was used as a stand-in. 5 people were left on the bench. 724 total minutes
Takumi Minamino is a Japanese actor.
27 years old 19 players have been named to the squad. 0 is the name of the first character of the XI alphabet. 8 was used as a stand-in. 11 people were left on the bench. 86 total minutes
Joe Gomez
24 years old 17 players have been named to the squad. 0 is the name of the first character of the XI alphabet. 4 has been replaced 13 people were left on the bench. 12 total minutes
MANCHESTER CITY is a football club based in Manchester, England.
Fernandinho is the biggest bench rider.
Since David Silva’s departure in 2020, Fernandinho has been a continuous fixture in Pep Guardiola’s matchday squads despite not being as actively used as he previously was as the joint-oldest member of City’s senior squad and club captain. Indeed, the 36-year-old Brazilian has had his playing time curtailed in his eighth Premier League season, albeit he remains an important and experienced backup in the first squad.
MANCHESTER UNITED is a football club based in Manchester, England.
Donny van de Beek is a Dutch actor. is the biggest bench rider.
Van de Beek has had another dreadful season, with little over an hour of Premier League “action” at the midway point of the 2021-22 campaign. This is less than a fourth of the total league minutes (511) he played in the whole 2020-21 season, which was hardly a stellar campaign for the Dutch midfielder. To be sure, the former Ajax great was nominated for a Ballon d’Or only a few months ago, and since then, he’s only made four league starts for United. Donny is in such a bad way.
Donny van de Beek is a Dutch actor. has been nominated for the 2019 Ballon d’Or. pic.twitter.com/kyOVEfseni
10 October 2021 — ESPN FC (@ESPNFC)
Donny van de Beek is a Dutch actor.
24 years old 22 people have been named to the squad. 0 is the name of the first character of the XI alphabet. 8 was used as a stand-in. 14 people were left on the bench. Total football minutes: 70
Diogo Dalot is a Brazilian actor.
22 years old 21 people have been named to the squad. 7th in the starting XI 5 has been replaced 9 people were left on the bench. 728 total minutes
Lingard, Jesse
29 years old 18 players have been named to the squad. 0 is the name of the first character of the XI alphabet. Substituted on: nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 9 people were left on the bench. 89 total minutes
Telles, Alex
29 years old 14 people have been named to the squad. 8th in the starting XI 1 has been substituted 5 people were left on the bench. 827 total minutes
Juan Mata
33 years old 13 people have been named to the squad. 0 is the name of the first character of the XI alphabet. 0 has been substituted 13 people were left on the bench. 0 total minutes
HOTSPUR TOTTENHAM
Dele Alli is the biggest bench rider.
Alli has battled to work his way back into the first-team picture at Spurs after a stunning fall from favor during Jose Mourinho’s tenure as manager, however he is at the very least making the matchday squad again. So far this season, the 25-year-old offensive midfielder has been included in all but one of Tottenham’s Premier League matchday squads, despite having only played 145 minutes of league football (split over three outings) since Antonio Conte took over in November 2021.
While Spurs are playing at Stamford Bridge, Dele Alli’s newest TikTok video: pic.twitter.com/LdYjn64EB3
January 23, 2022 — The Spurs Web (@thespursweb)
Dele Alli
25 years old 19 players have been named to the squad. 8th in the starting XI 2 has been replaced 9 people were left on the bench. 657 total minutes
Ben Davies is a writer who lives in the United
28 years old 19 players have been named to the squad. 10 has been named to the starting XI. 1 has been substituted 8 people were left on the bench. 930 total minutes
Tanganga, Japhet
22 years old 18 players have been named to the squad. 10 has been named to the starting XI. 1 has been substituted 7 people were left on the bench. 739 total minutes
Matt Doherty (Matt Doherty)
30 years old 17 players have been named to the squad. 1 in the starting XI 5 has been replaced 11 people were left on the bench. 232 total minutes
Harry Winks is a well-known actor.
25 years old 17 players have been named to the squad. 6 in the starting XI 3 times substituted 8 people were left on the bench. 526 total minutes
Donny van de Beek, Saul Niguez are among the Premier League’s biggest bench riders. Reference: donny van de beek talksport.
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