Steven Gerrard’s midfield has been a pivotal contributor to the English manager’s success this season. The likes of Ryan Jack, Steven Davis, Joe Aribo and Glen Kamara have all been regulars and the manager’s side (WhoScored.com). Whether the rotation of players is due to fitness or because Gerrard is still undecided on his go-to lineup is unknown.
A thread on a Rangers fan account’s tweet indicated that Jack and Davis would start in almost every fan midfield three. However, there were still split votes regarding Aribo and Kamara. But which of the two fringe players has performed the best so far this season? Here are all the statistics you need to make the decision for yourself.
TIF Tactics – Who has had the better start to the season this year? Aribo or Kamara?
Regarding passing, Kamara averages 64.63 passes per 90 minutes this season with a 92.2% success rate. He averages 10.6 passes into the final third with an 88.6% accuracy and an additional 1.06 balls played into the box with a 64% accuracy. Aribo, on the other hand, averages just 51.77 passes per 90 minutes this season with an 89.4% accuracy. He averages 5.1 passes per 90 into the final third with a 79.8% success rate and averages 1.92 passes into the box with a 74.4% success rate.
In terms of passing, it appears that Kamara is more comfortable when offloading the ball to teammates. Not only does he average more passes per game than his teammate, but he is also more successful overall when doing so. This does change when it comes to playing balls into the opposition box, however, with Aribo making more passes per 90 into the box while being more successful when taking these chances.
Passing isn’t the only way to progress the ball, however. Kamara averages 2.33 dribbles per game with a 58.2% success rate. Interestingly, Aribo has the exact same success rate with his dribbles but averages 5.99 per game. While they both appear to be equally competent with the ball at their feet, Aribo does so more frequently.
Defensively, Kamara averages 5.86 defensive duels per game with a 68.8% success rate. He averages 3.82 interceptions a game and makes 7.6 recoveries per game, 46.4% of which occur in the opposition half. Aribo averages 6.08 defensive duels per game and is successful 69.1% of the time. The Nigerian averages 3.22 interceptions a game and 6.57 recoveries, 49.7% of which occur in the opposition half. While Aribo appears to be the better tackler, Kamara looks like he’s the player who wins the ball back on a more frequent basis.
The statistics shed light on why Gerrard is having such a difficult time picking between Aribo and Kamara. While both have similar qualities in certain areas, they thrive at different things. In a possession-based team, Kamara has the ability to make multiple passes with limited mistakes. However, Aribo looks better suited for those eye of the needle passes to pick out a teammate in a goal-scoring area. Aribo is a more frequent dribbler, while Kamara looks to be more reliable winning the ball back. It is a great predicament for Gerrard to be in, however. Fans will surely be happy to see both men feature on a frequent basis, assuming they can keep the high standards up.
(all data and stats from Wyscout.com, accurate at the time of writing)