Premier League 2016-17 awards: 5 best attacking midfielders

By Ty Finch | May 3, 2017

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 08: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his sides first goal with Jan Vertonghen of Tottenham Hotspur and Eric Dier of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Watford at White Hart Lane on April 8, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /

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LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 22: Eden Hazard of Chelsea during the Emirates FA Cup semi-final match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on April 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images) /

1. Eden Hazard, Chelsea

Even someone who has never seen a Chelsea match before can tell who the best player on the pitch is. Not only does Eden Hazard exude confidence every time he’s on the ball, he also moves the attack forward and creates chances in abundance. Unlike last season, Hazard has also added in the finishing and assisting to make him the best attacking midfielder of the Premier League year.

Hazard can make the most seasoned of defenders look absolutely silly. His low center of gravity and compact, muscular frame, combined with his agility and ridiculous foot skills, can turn players around and forget what half of the pitch they’re defending. Hazard put all of his outstanding attributes together and combined them into 14 goals and five assists so far this season.

The play that completely encapsulates Hazard as a player this season is his outstanding goal versus Arsenal in February.

He picks up the ball in midfield and ghosts past Laurent Koscienly, one of the best defenders in the Premier League, with ease. None of his teammates have joined the attack at this point, so Hazard decides to take on the entire Arsenal defense by himself. Francis Coquelin is his next victim. Coquelin’s best attribute is his defensive prowess, and he prides himself on breaking up attack however necessary. After failing to knick the ball off Hazard, Coquelin goes in a second time. After blatantly fouling him, Coquelin falls directly on his back. Hazard shrugs him off and keeps going.

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Even at this point, the likelihood of scoring is low. Koscielny gets back into position with his center-back partner Shkodran Mustafi to his right. Hazard decides to take on Arsenal’s best defender inside the 18 and makes him look silly again. Mustafi tries to cover at the last second but fails, and Hazard’s shot beats Petr Cech to his right. His goal ended up being the goal of the month, and may very well be the goal of the year.

Antonio Conte has freed up Hazard much more than Mourinho did last year, and the results speak for themselves. The rest of the Premier League should be trembling if he can keep this form up.

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