This is just a quick comparison table between Yann M’Vila and other defensive-minded central midfielders across Europe with similar statistics. Not specifically defensive or holding midfielders, but rather any player with a defensive edge comfortable playing in central midfield. If you want to add a player to the list, request it in the comments section below.
Click on the headers to sort the columns. All fields except ‘Ass.’ (assists), ‘Age’ and ‘Pass %’ (pass accuracy) are numbers PER GAME. Statistics displayed are the categories we feel a defensive-minded midfielder playing in the Song/Wilshere/Arteta role should have good levels in. Fields ‘Trn’ (turnovers) and ‘Disp’ (dispossessed) are negative; lower is better.
As always, all numbers and statistics originating from Opta, via WhoScored.
| Player | Age | Tackles | Int | Clr | Assists | Shots | Key P | Disp | Trn | Passes | Pass % | Long | Thru |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yann M’Vila | 22 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 2 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 71.8 | 83.2% | 7.7 | 0.3 |
| Alex Song | 24 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 11 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1 | 66.1 | 84.3% | 3.3 | 0.7 |
| Yohan Cabaye | 26 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 1 | 6 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 42.7 | 80.4% | 2.8 | 0.2 |
| Lee Cattermole | 24 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 1.1 | 0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 37.3 | 81.4% | 3.9 | 0 |
| Alejandro Faurlin | 25 | 4.5 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 0 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 57.4 | 81.3% | 6.2 | 0.2 |
| Arturo Vidal | 25 | 5.4 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 3 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 57 | 85.1% | 3 | 0.5 |
| Marouane Fellaini | 24 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 2 | 4 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 2 | 0.9 | 52.6 | 79.7% | 2.4 | 0 |
| Gokhan Inler | 28 | 2.8 | 2 | 0.9 | 4 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1 | 0.9 | 49.6 | 86.5% | 7.2 | 0.3 |
| Fernando Gago | 26 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 3 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 60.1 | 85.4% | 5.7 | 0.4 |
| Riccardo Montolivo | 27 | 3.4 | 3 | 2.2 | 2 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 65.4 | 80.9% | 6.6 | 0.3 |
| Bruno | 28 | 2.8 | 5.6 | 2.1 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 69.9 | 87.9% | 5.4 | 0.1 |
| Jeremy Toulalan * | 28 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 1.2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 50.5 | 78.9% | 3 | 0 |
| Gabi | 29 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 0.5 | 5 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 54.2 | 81.4% | 5.8 | 0.1 |
| Lars Bender | 23 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 3 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 45.8 | 82.6% | 2.1 | 0.1 |
| Ilkay Gundogan | 21 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 3 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 47.9 | 85.1% | 5.1 | 0.2 |
| Moussa Sissoko * | 22 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 3 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 39.1 | 76.9% | 1.5 | 0.1 |
| Renaud Cohade | 27 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 5 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 54.7 | 80.5% | 4.1 | 0.1 |
| Etienne Capoue | 24 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3 | 4 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 60.5 | 76.5% | 5 | 0.3 |
| Etienne Didot | 29 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 2 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 51.8 | 75.3% | 2.3 | 0.3 |
| Cheik Tiote | 26 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 1 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 58.4 | 83.2% | 4 | 0 |
| Francis Coquelin * | 21 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 39.3 | 84.7% | 2.1 | 0.1 |
| Moussa Dembele * | 25 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 2 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 46.7 | 88.6% | 1.3 | 0.1 |
| Radja Nainggolan * | 24 | 3.9 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 44.8 | 85.6% | 4.4 | 0.1 |
| Nuri Sahin (2010-2011) | 23 | 3.7 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 8 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 59.3 | 75.9% | 5.5 | 0.3 |
* Requested player
Judging by the stats displayed here, interesting targets would be Alejandro Faurlin (25y, Queens Park Rangers), Yohan Cabaye (26y, Newcastle), Gabi (28y, Atletico Madrid), Bruno (28y, Villarreal) and Etienne Capoue (23y, Toulouse).
Update 27 July 2012: After rumours about Nuri Sahin being Arsenal-bound, we added him to the bottom of the list. But as he only made two appearances for Real Madrid last season, we included his stats from the 2010-2011 season with Dortmund. Easy to see why Real Madrid bought him, his stats are fantastic.