Credit: Imago and Manh Tung

Daniel Edwards

Wed 8 October 2025 15:48, UK

Hudl Statsbomb’s all-emcompassing ‘On-Ball Value’ (OBV) metric paints Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice as the Premier League’s most important player this season.

The OBV model quanitifies the positive or negative impact of every action on the pitch, whether it be passes, carries, defensive actions or shots, assigning a value to each event based on how it changes the probability of the team scoring or conceding.

This metric, which is also referred to as Possession Value or Expected Threat depending on the data provider, is used by analysts at all Premier League clubs to evaluate the performances of present and future players.

Rice is considered to be the heart and soul of the Arsenal team, but while he ranks highly in many areas, it can be difficult to distill his value as a whole. Until now.

Declan Rice is the Premier League’s MVP

The 26-year-old England midfielder starred again for Arsenal last time out as the Gunners defeated his former club West Ham 2-0 at the Emirates on October 4.

Rice scored Arsenal’s opening goal before laying the ball on a platter for Viktor Gyokeres later in the game, with the Swede failing to convert from close range. Rice ranked ninth among all players last weekend for OBV, while Gyokeres ranked second last.

But for the season so far, Rice is a distance ahead of any other player, with an OBV figure of 3.22, 2.2 of which comes from his passing.

Chelsea’s Estevao is in second place with 2.64, with 1.18 of that total coming from his shooting, which is the fourth most of any player.

There are also surprise entries for Idrissa Gueye, Mohammed Kudus and Kieran Trippier to complete the top five spots, only serving to highlight the fact that OBV truly considers how every type of player affects a game of football.

Erling Haaland is currently ranked 17th, while Mohamed Salah is down in 40th.

Rice also provides the most value with his passing

As mentioned above, the bulk of Rice’s value comes from his passing, and it is therefore not surprising to see him leading all players in the Premier League this season Passing OBV.

This won’t be a surprise to Arsenal fans, who see him knitting together attacking sequences on a weekly basis while firing in deadly crosses from set pieces.

Trippier, who has entered the final year of his deal at Newcastle, provides the second most value of any player with his passing (1.88).

Meanwhile, former Manchester United player James Garner comes in at third, with Adrien Truffert and Diogo Dalot filling out the rest of the top five.

The player with the unfortunate role of providing the least value with his passing is Lyle Foster with -0.57 – although he can be cut some slack given he is leading the line for newly promoted Burnley.

Where would Wolves be without Emmanuel Agbadou?

Although he plays for the side who are currently bottom of the Premier League with two points from seven games, Wolves‘ Emmanuel Agbadou leads all players for value added from defensive actions (1.46).

Marc Guehi and Maxence Lacroix often receive the plaudits for Crystal Palace‘s excellent defensive statistics, but it was USA international Chris Richards who comes in at second place.

Jake O’Brien, Everton‘s 6 ft 6 Republic of Ireland who is filling in at right-back, ranks third, while Ruben Dias and Gabriel Magalhaes complete the top five and hint at who does the heavy lifting for the top sides in the division.

Nottingham Forest‘s Ibrahim Sangare has provided the least defensive value in the Premier League this season with -1.25.

Jack Grealish should be in the England squad

There is another case to be made for why Jack Grealish should have been in Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad.

The on-loan Everton star has the joint-most assists of any player in the Premier League this season (4), while only Bruno Fernandes (19) has created more chances for his teammate than Grealish (17).

But his he is also leading all players for OBV from dribbles and carrying (1.85), showcasing the threat he provides while moving with the ball.

Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh comes in at second place (1.44), and there is no surprise to see Jeremy Doku in third place (1.38).

Elliot Anderson has been linked with a move to Man United, and it is easy to see why, ranking the highest of any central midfielder (1.2).

Another Brighton player completes the top five, but this time it is central defender Jean Paul van Hecke (1.18), who is well clear of any other centre-back for this metric.