Who is the most creative player in the Premier League?

Squawka showed Arsenal's Martin Ødegaard is the top Premier League player for open play chances created since the start of 2023/24. What about chance quality?

Liverpool’s draw with Arsenal was one of those knife-edge games two big teams often produce. Whether it was good or bad depends on what you find entertaining but it was close.

Almost every important metric was as near to level as to render the differences irrelevant. We saw both sides score from a set piece, both score thanks to a piercing long ball delivered down their right channel.

Chances came at a high premium, particularly in open play. Kai Havertz was the only man on either side to create two opportunities if we exclude set plays. Per FBRef, the German’s creativity delivered all of just 0.06 expected goals.

The Gunners would have been more incisive had Martin Ødegaard been available. On Saturday evening, Squawka shared a list of the top 10 creators of open play chances in the Premier League since the start of last season, with the Norwegian leading the way.

Maybe his presence wouldn’t have shifted the creative needle all that much at the Emirates last weekend. Luis Diáz, Bukayo Saka and Mohamed Salah all made the list here while delivering one open play chance between them in the match. Good teams know how to cancel each other out better than anybody.

In reality, the above table contains context-less, engagement-farming numbers which drive any remotely competent analyst to distraction. How many minutes has each man played? What was the quality of the chances they provided to their teammates? It’s essential to account for these factors, not least as some players from the list shift position significantly once you do.