The main goal of this data analysis is to find stand-out wingers from the Argentinian Primera Division and Brazilian Serie A.
In this data analysis are included players with a minimum of 600 minutes played and a maximum of 25 years old. There are always talented and skilful wingers in South America, and because of that, we raised the age margin to 25 which is the age where wingers are starting to meet their peak. The dataset is from the current season. After the analysis, we will make a shortlist of three players who are ready to play for the teams in Europe.
Dribbling
Dribbling ability is one of the primary skills you look for in a good winger. It allows them to go through one-on-one situations and create space for making an impact like a shot or a cross.
On the graph above is a little cluster in the top right corner, so we will highlight all of them.
Leandro Carvalho is a 24-year-old Ceara SC player. His preferred side is right and he is right-footed. The Brazilian dribbler attempts 8.52 dribbles per 90 and is successful in 4.71 of them (55% success rate).
Everton is a 24-year-old left-winger from Gremio is a player who is well known amongst football fans because of his impressive Copa America 2019 performances. He attempts 8.58 dribbles per 90 and is successful in 4.63 dribbles (54% success rate).
Yefferson Soteldo is a 22-year-old Venezuelan international who plays in Brazil for Santos. Per 90 minutes, he attempts 8.11 dribbles and 4.6 of them are successful (57% success rate).
Janderson Santos plays for Corinthians, he is a 21-year-old Brazilian. He attempts 8.98 dribbles per 90, with 4.53 successful dribbles (50% success rate).
Emanuel Reynoso 24-year-old Boca Juniors player. He attempts 8.25 dribbles per 90 and 4.54 of them are successful (55% success rate).
Michel plays for Flamengo and he is aged 24. His dribbling stats per 90 are 7.75 attempted, 4.45 successful (57% success rate).
Sebastian Villa is a 23-year-old Columbian who also plays for Boca Juniors. This speedster can play on both wings. He attempts 8.72 dribbles and is successful in 4.21 dribbles (48% success rate).
Creativity – xA and created chances
If a winger likes to play on the side he can create by crossing, he would also like to cut inside and play through passes for his teammates.
On this graph, we can see a few players that stand out from rest by xA and chances created.
Giorgian De Arrascaeta is by far the most creative player from all of them, he is a 25-year-old who plays for Flamengo. He creates 1.62 chances per 90 and his xA is 0.65 which is quite impressive. Even though he is on the list when his main position is as an attacking midfielder, he still has the versatility to play on both wings.
David Barbona plays for Racing Club, currently at 25 years old. His xA per 90 is 0.48 and he creates 1.36 chances per 90.
Emanuel Reynoso is not only a good dribbler, but this left-footed Argentinian is also a very creative player. He mostly plays on the left side, but he is versatile and can play as a playmaker. His xA is 0.39 and he creates 1.58 chances per 90.
Ignacio Aliseda transferred to Chicago Fire so he will not be evaluated.
Creativity – Tendency for key passes
One thing that is also important is the tendency of players to try key passes based on the number of passes they play per 90.
Giorgian De Arrascaeta and Emanuel Reynoso are players that have most attempts of key passes, they are facilitators in their teams.
Giorgian De Arrascaeta has many touches on the ball we can see that he attempts 50.87 passes per 90 and tries 3.85 key passes per 90.
Emanuel Reynoso attempts 48.94 passes per 90 and 3.62 of them are key pass attempts.
Nicolas de la Cruz is 22-year-old Uruguayan playing for River Plate. His vision helps him to play through balls for his teammates. He attempts 49 passes per 90 and 3.06 of them are key pass attempts. He was also on the graph above having an xA of 0.38, but lacking created chances.
Others that we look for are the ones with more key pass attempts and a smaller number of passes attempted. All of them were in dribbling section.
Sebastian Villa attempts 28.52 passes per 90 and 2.58 of them are key pass attempts.
Yefferson Soteldo attempts 25.11 passes per 90 and 2.42 are key pass attempts.
Leandro Carvalho attempts 30.58 passes per 90 and 2.45 of them are key pass attempts.
Shooting and xG
The graph above shows the number of attempted shots per 90 and xG per 90.
Nicolas De La Cruz shows that he gets in good situations for the goal as his xG is 0.337 and he shoots 2.55 times per 90. Off-the-ball movement and anticipation are his strengths.
Giorgian De Arrascaeta is showing that he can be a threat by scoring goals, not only creating them. His xG is 0.335 and he has 2.2 shots per 90.
Everton likes to cut inside and shoot. His xG counts 0.29 and he takes 3 shots per 90.
Santiago Rosales and Tomas Chancalay are players that also stand out by the number of shots. They are not highlighted in any of the previous sections so they will not be evaluated.
Highlighted wingers
If we look at successful dribbling we can see that all 7 players can dribble and make an impact in one-on-one situations. 4+ successful dribblings per 90 is an impressive number. But those with 3+ are also having a great number of successful dribblings.
De Arrascaeta, Reynoso, and De La Cruz are frontrunners in the creativity deparment.
De La Cruz, De Arrascaeta, Everton, and Soteldo have 0.2+ xG per 90 and they are above the other three players in that stat.
Everton shoots 3 times per 90 and he is the top player in that department, and Reynoso is the only player that shoots below 2 shots per 90.
Final shortlist
After looking at all numbers, three players that are playing at a high level are:
Giorgian De Arrascaeta – he is an all-around winger based on analysed stats. Impressive at providing for his teammates, but also can score goals. Last year he won the Brazilian Serie A and Copa Libertadores with Flamengo. For Uruguay, he collected 25 caps and scored 3 goals. His worth is valued at 19 million euros by Transfermarkt.
Everton – persistent dribbler who likes to cut inside from the left side and shoot. He is a little short in creativity, but he has the ability to improve in that part of his game. He played 14 times for Brazil international side and scored 3 goals. His worth is 35 million euros according to Transfermarkt. Lately, he has been linked with English Premier League teams Everton and Arsenal.
Nicolas De La Cruz – it was a dilemma between him and Emanuel Reynoso because they are similar players, but De La Cruz has a tendency to shoot and wants to score goals, while Reynoso takes a very small number of shots, and because of that his xG is low. This wide playmaker is looking like he could be good as De Arrascaeta and he is the youngest of these 3 players. He has not played for the Uruguay senior squad, but for the Uruguay U20 squad where he has 26 caps and has scored 5 times. He is valued at 15 million euros by Transfermarkt. It is, however, still worth noting is that he does not have an international cap yet.
Conclusion
Giorgian De Arrascaeta, Everton, and Nicolas De La Cruz are showing great numbers and we should scout them. The next step is to scout them and give an opinion about clubs that have tactics and systems where these players would thrive.
