Arsenal

My Premier League Team of the Season

The difficult thing when picking a Premier League team of the season, is determining which qualities warrant a place in it. A lot of players have produced magical moments in the season, but haven’t been consistent enough to be named in the side. The goalkeeping position is an interesting one; there have been a lot […]

by
Matthew Law
May 18, 2011

The goalkeeping position is an interesting one; there have been a lot of solid performers in struggling teams such as Ben Foster and Paul Robinson, who are perhaps unlucky not to be named in the team but the place just has to be given to Edwin Van der Sar. At the age of 40, he is still producing performances of the very highest standard. His handling, decision making, distribution and kicking are all exemplary and he will be a real miss when he retires at the end of the season.

In truth, there hasn’t really been a stand out right back this season; I’m giving the slot to Phil Neville based on his experience and the edge he provides. After a poor beginning to the campaign, his form has helped push Everton up the table. Ask any Manchester City fan and they will tell you that Vincent Kompany has been their best player this season. He completed the transition from midfield to defence with ease and is a real force in both penalty areas.

Nemanja Vidic must be named the other of the centre backs; he is an absolute colossus and is without question one of, if not the best, centre back in the world. The numerous times he clears the ball from danger and his attacking threat at set pieces makes him such a stand-out player. The left back position is going to Jose Enrique; Leighton Baines is unfortunate to miss out but Enrique has been fantastic for Newcastle all season, who will be lucky to hang on to him in the summer. His decision making, pace and strength make him one of the finest left backs in the league.

It would have been really easy to pick players such as Gareth Bale, Samir Nasri and Charlie Adam who enjoyed absolutely superb early periods of the season. But it seems to have caught up with them recently, the former two now injured and the latter finding life tougher in the Premier League.

Nani must make the team purely on his assist record this season – 18 to date; he has also weighed in with 9 Premier League goals and although he has found himself playing second fiddle to Antonio Valencia in recent weeks, he has just been too good to be left out. Scott Parker has been inspirational in a struggling West Ham team and is perhaps the only player who can still hold his head high; he wouldn’t look out of place in any of the top teams who are sure to be after his services in the summer.

My other central midfielder is Luka Modric, the only criticism I have of him is that he doesn’t score enough goals, but he has been inspirational for Tottenham this season. Nigel de Jong is also worth a mention and has been fantastic for Manchester City this season, but just misses out. The final midfield spot goes to Ryan Giggs; there isn’t anything more I can add about the man because it would never do him justice. He has no right to be producing the type of performances he is at the age of 37.

The two strikers is a difficult one. Dimitar Berbatov has found himself out of the team in many of the big games this season but is likely to finish the season as the top scorer with 21 goals and on that basis he cannot be left out. My other choice is a controversial one; Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie has been in fine form of late but has missed large chunks of the season, whilst Carlos Tevez has also been injured and out of form in recent weeks. Javier Hernandez is also unlucky to miss out after a fabulous opening season in the Premier League that has seen him score 13 Premier League goals. The spot goes to Peter Odemwingie. He has scored 15 Premier League goals for West Brom and has been an inspiration in their turn around in form which has left them eleventh in the league with just one game to go.