Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas is still the best passer in the Premier League, stats show

Back to his best: Cesc Fabregas has been revealed to be the best passer in the Premier League this season
Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Vaishali Bhardwaj25 January 2016

Cesc Fabregas may have been heavily criticised for his disappointing performances for Chelsea this season, but off the back of his impressive showing against former club Arsenal on Sunday, the midfielder has now been revealed to have the best passing statistics of any player in the Premier League this term.

According to EA SPORTS Player Performance Index stats, the Spaniard has completed the highest number of total passes in the top flight this term with 1309 - 66 more than second-placed Andrew Surman of Bournemouth, 87 more than Gareth Barry and 173 more than Arsenal star Mesut Ozil.

To add to Fabregas' return to form, the 28-year-old has also completed more passes in the opposition's half (881) this term while having completed the most passes per 90 minutes on average than any other player (72).

Bournemouth's Surman comes in second place in the passing stats table while Barry finds himself in third place and Ozil in fourth. Fellow Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey is in eighth position while Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen is in 10th place.

Fabregas' stats may be a surprise given the midfielder's performances earlier on in the season when he struggled to replicate his scintillating showings from Chelsea's title-winning campaign just months earlier.

Indeed, his form while Jose Mourinho was in charge led to Chelsea fans directing their anger about the Portuguese coach being sacked in December towards Fabregas during the win over Sunderland.

However, since the arrival of Guus Hiddink, Fabregas - as well as many of his Chelsea teammates - have enjoyed an improvement in form and the Spaniard was one of the club's best players on the pitch as the champions ran out 1-0 winners away to Arsenal on Sunday.

EA Sports player Performance Index

Data courtesy of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, the Official Player Rating Index of the Barclays Premier League.

Arsenal vs Chelsea: Player ratings

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