The 20 best players in the Premier League, November 2018
By golly we're already in December which means it's time to find out who the best 20 players in the Premier League were for the previous month!
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the winner of our hallowed internet prize in October but November was a weird one, had an international break, and this list takes in the games that took place on the 2nd and 3rd of December too.
Using a combination of having watched a ludicrous number of games and the power of statistics, below is a ranking of the players to have really performed above their average over the last four games.
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20. Alisson (Liverpool)
In at number 20 is very expensive goalkeeping man Alisson, who made 10 saves - a 91 per cent save ratio - in a defence which nobody seems to be able to breach.
That only actually happened once in November during the 1-1 draw with Arsenal but Alisson brings a lot more to the table than just his ability to stop people from scoring. The composure and technique shown when passing the ball out from the back under pressure is a key reason Liverpool are able to turn defence into attack so easily.
19. Solly March (Brighton)
Four assists in four games for March... in November... is an excellent return, including two in the comeback win over Huddersfield. It hasn't been a great month for Brighton in terms of results but March (in November) has been decent... so decent in fact that he has made our illustrious list for the first time ever. What more could he really ask for? There is no greater prize in football. If he can keep up this form, perhaps March will feature in December too.
18. Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield)
Mooy is one of those players never really likely to quite make it at a "Big Club" but who is beloved by the small-medium one he stars for every week, something which is happening right now. It's what Mooy does in midfield - moving around linking play, driving the team forward - that makes him so important but his two goals against Wolves were brilliantly taken and secured vital points, giving Huddersfield a bit of light in a season on the brink of falling down a dark relegation hole.
17. Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace)
Townsend is playing some of the best football he ever has right now and considering it feels like he's been around since 1995, it's pretty weird to realise Townsend is only 27 - well within the age boundaries of Gareth Southgate's England squad.
Clever movement, quick dribbling, pace; Townsend's long-range finish against Burnley was stunning, nearly bursting the net as it powered into the top corner.
Roy Hodgson has been playing him as a striker alongside Wilf Zaha, with both players expected to defend wide, attack through the middle and drift into channels. This tactical ploy has resulted in Townsend scoring two goals and assisting one more last month, creating eight chances, too. That's the third highest of anyone in the league.
16. Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Hazard has stopped scoring recently but is still floating about games causing damage wherever he goes. No player created as many chances (11) in the Premier League as Hazard over the previous four games and although he really ought to be scaring goalkeepers a little more with efforts at goal, defences are so determined in their policing of him that Hazard is dropping deeper to receive the ball and either link play or run.
That's his touchmap from the win over Fulham - not many were inside the box, which might help explain why the goals have dried up.
15. Xherdan Shaqiri (Liverpool)
Has taken a while to find a place in the Liverpool team but now he's up to speed, Shaqiri is using his talents for good. That's right, no evil is to be found here, even if some of the little shoulder-drops and through-balls he's capable of producing would have had villages attempting to burn him alive at the stake under charge of witchcraft were this the year 1703. What I'm trying to say here is that Shaqiri is good at the football.
14. Stuart Armstrong (Southampton)
Three goals in four games for Southampton's summer signing, who shouldn't have to work too hard to impress his new manager considering how effective he's been over the previous month. Armstrong is an attacking midfielder who likes to run with the ball, moving into channels and turning up in dangerous positions to finish off moves. His bullet shot to open the scoring against Man Utd was brilliant.
13. Harry Kane (Spurs)
He loves a shot, does Harry Kane, and this month he took the most of any player in the league (19), scoring three goals and assisting one in the process. His performance against Chelsea was the standout, with Kane dropping into the 10 space, dragging defenders out of position. The best all-round centre-forward in the league, even when he's not on fire.
12. Jonathan Hogg (Huddersfield)
The most tackles of any player in the league (17), the joint-second most interceptions (13) and the joint-most recoveries (43). It's safe to say that Hogg is more destroyer than creative midfield genius but players like this are crucial and Huddersfield are dead lucky they have such an excellent one.
Hogg is the kind of player you love having on your team. The guy who has looked 35 years old since he was eight, the one who goes in a little too hard in five-a-side, the top lad who gets the Jaeger-bombs in but still looks after the poor youngsters who couldn't keep up. He's not glamorous or sexy, nor is he N'Golo Kante, but by god he'll get you points.
11. Bernardo Silva (Man City)
The first of about 28 Man City players in this month's 20-man-list provided two assists from 10 chances created - the joint-second most in the league for November - and scored one goal. Bernardo's sense of movement and intelligent understanding with team-mates sees him drift, roam and create as he helps Man City pick apart their rivals. So much fun to watch.
10. Granit Xhaka (Arsenal)
Xhaka is much more reliable now that Lucas Torreira is doing the dog work in midfield alongside him and - believe it or not - is the heartbeat of the Arsenal team. No player in the league had more touches (439), only two made more passes than his 347 (and both of those were defenders), while the 38 recoveries and 13 tackles Xhaka made puts him in the top of those sections too. Is Xhaka underrated?! Not in our monthly list, he's not! But also, yes, he probably is.
9. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
Part winger, part goal poacher, all action - Aubameyang has scored three goals in his last four games for Arsenal in the Premier League and is simply a massively talented player. I've owned cars that are slower than Aubameyang when he gets into his stride but that pace combined with a such clever, devious movement and amazing finishing makes him a lethal striker. Does occasionally go missing when up front on his own but three goals and one assist in the last month have earned him his high ranking. Was brilliant in the north London derby and has scored from his last 10 shots on target, something not achieved since Benni McCarthy 11 years ago.
8. Sergio Aguero (Man City)
Aguero scored two goals and provided two assists in three games and will be missed while he spends some time out injured. A ridiculously talented player who seems to go under the radar when it comes to talking about the best in the league, as well as when he actually plays, since defenders always lose him at crucial moments.
7. Aymeric Laporte (Man City)
Laporte is City's best defender but spends most of his time in midfield. He made the most passes of any player in the league (392), created one chance to score (this is unusual for a centre-back) and was basically just ace. His ability to carry the ball forward and bring others into play is fundamental to Guardiola's system - when up against teams sat deep in a packed block, Laporte becomes an additional play-maker, helping City dominate the pitch.
6. David Silva (Man City)
Probably the most underappreciated player of recent Premier League times, Silva is a little genius and everything flows through him when Man City play. Scored three goals in four games but the best thing Silva's done all month is more of the same, moving the ball quickly, darting in and out of space, allowing passes to flow effortlessly through the midfield.
5. Felipe Anderson (West Ham)
The best of West Ham's big summer spending splurge and actually now one of the best wingers in the entire league. Anderson scored four goals this month from a position wide left, cutting inside when needed but entirely prepared to do the hard defensive work not often associated with creative flair players - he made 29 recoveries in those four games, which is one more than N'Golo Kante.
4. Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool)
Jamie Carragher recently wrote on this very same website that he believes Van Dijk is already one of Liverpool's great centre-backs and it's easy to see why. There's an assuredness to the way Van Dijk defends that makes everyone around him better - Liverpool have only conceded one goal at home in the league all season and it's no coincidence that it's after the defender arrived that Jurgen Klopp's side learned how to stop other teams scoring against them.
Also, what an assist in the Merseyside derby! You can't teach that.
3. Leroy Sane (Man City)
Sane is yet another standout of Pep Guardiola's side and is unfortunate not to win this sacred ranking for his performances over the last month. His three goals and three assists in four games have only been bettered by one player (also a Man City teammate) and some of them were incredible. The nonchalant way Sane completely fooled both goalkeeper and panicking centre-back to slot into an empty net with a fake shot inside the six-yard box against West Ham is the mark of a confident, brilliant player.
2. Lucas Torreira (Arsenal)
The Uruguayan Kante. Torreira is everywhere all of the time, bringing bite and snap to a midfield which has been all gums for too many years. The highlight of his month was the performance against Spurs - and that stunning goal - but Torreira has been a wider, more crucial part of Emery's tactical plans throughout November and made 43 recoveries in total, putting him joint first with the mighty Jonathan Hogg.
1. Raheem Sterling (Man City)
If you hadn't heard, Sterling is the real deal now and had an incredible month, scoring four goals and providing three assists in four games. If his last name was Salah he'd be getting paraded through the streets but instead, Sterling's rather quietly going about firing Man City into leads every week.
It helps playing in a team as good as City of course but Sterling is taking advantage of the trust that Guardiola has put in him and is devastating as either a winger, inside-forward or false nine. There are few players more effective or exciting to watch in Europe on current form.
Honourable mentions
Anthony Martial
Morgan Gibbs-White
Salamon Rondon
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Gylfi Sigurdsson
Chicharito
Callum Wilson
Alexandre Lacazette