Creator Tier List Series: Who is Tier 2?
If you haven’t seen the previous part, check out the Tier 3 creators here. Many of you liked that one, and if you did, you’d love this one even more. In this part we’d take a look at the creators in Europe’s top leagues that rank in Tier 2.
Players appeared in Tier 3 for various reasons, but many of the creators you know would appear here and in Tier 1. This list is mainly filled with creators that have remained consistent for the past 24 months, even if they haven’t necessarily put up creative numbers that have ranked №1 in Europe.
Some creators on this list are closer to Tier 1 than they are to Tier 3, but because Tier 1 has been reserved for creators with truly mind-boggling numbers, I have kept said creators in Tier 2 for now.
Let’s jump into it. Here are your Tier 2 creators:
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Right back, Liverpool
You can make a very easy case for Alexander-Arnold being Liverpool’s most important player this season, as his injury coincided with their collapse and exit from the Premier League title race, and the Europa League.
You would find reasons to include Alexander-Arnold in Tier 1, as his consistency and execution over the past few years have made it easy — and possible, in some cases — to challenge for, and win, the most coveted trophies in club football.
Alexander-Arnold is one of the few players in world football that has consistently completed crosses to relatively short players in crowded penalty areas. His ability to pick out players in the penalty box is frightening.
The Englishman’s big chance creation is ridiculous, creating the third most big chances (40) in Europe’s top leagues since the beginning of last season. One two players have created more than he has in that time.
The Liverpool fullback falls short of making the Tier 1 list with his raw chance creation numbers. Last season despite the fullback starting 34 games and creating 25 big chances (third highest in the league), he created just 1.9 chances per game, which is not high at all, considering the team he plays for.
This season he has improved greatly, going up to 2.3 chances per game, but that is still not high considering the circumstances, though he has missed 16 games in all competitions for the Reds.
He plays for a ball-dominant Liverpool side that keeps more of the ball than at least 16 other teams, which means that the Liverpool №66 has a lot of opportunities to create considerably more than 2.3 chances per game.
He is an extremely important figure at the Merseyside club, as he is currently the vice-captain, but his stature is only going to grow.
Pascal Groß, Central midfielder, Brighton and Hove Albion
Groß has gone under the radar when it comes to creativity for several reasons. He has steadily put up impressive creative numbers over the past several seasons, but somehow fans rarely put him in notable creator conversations.
Groß’s creative numbers are more impressive considering the role he plays and his general passing accuracy. He is one of the few tempo-controlling chief creators in world football and looks to be one of the best around too. Kroos is one, but his creation numbers aren’t as good as the 32-year-old Brighton midfielder’s.
Groß has played as a defensive midfielder in a pivot in 27/36 appearances so far, and 6 appearances out of the remaining nine at central midfield in a midfield three.
At 2.9 chances per game, the Brighton №13 is second for chances created per game this season, among players who have played 19 games or more. He has also created the second most volume of chances this season behind only Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes. He is doing this while ranking 5th for completed passes per game (72.9), and 6th-highest for percentage of passes completed (90%).
He also ranks fourth highest for expected assists (8.52) in the league, having created 11 big chances so far this season, as of the time this data was collected.
Last season, the Germany international was impressive in that department as well, creating the fourth-highest volume of key passes (80), ranking 5th for key passes per game, 5th for total expected assists (8.8), and 6th for big chances created (16).
Groß has been Brighton’s perhaps most important player of the Premier League era, with the club arriving in the top flight in the 2017/18 season. The former Ingolstadt midfielder has been with Brighton through the Premier League era, having joined the club in 2012.
Luis Alberto, Central attacking midfielder, Lazio
Alberto has been the best creator in Italy’s highest division for the past six seasons. He ranked 5th highest in the league last season for key passes per game (1.9) and currently ranks 4th in the league for the same metric (2.0).
The Spaniard has created the most chances in the Serie A since the beginning of last season (130) and completed the most through passes in that time (18). His big chance numbers aren’t the most impressive, creating 16 since the beginning of last season.
The Spaniard is already 32 years old, so he’s not likely to get a big move at this stage in his career, but with the Serie A being unfavorable for chance creators generally, standing out in that environment says something.
Martin Odegaard, Central midfielder, Arsenal
Now Arsenal’s chief creator and formerly Real Sociedad’s chief creator, the Norwegian central midfielder has shown his ability to lead an attack with his intelligence, decision-making, and intricate passing.
Arsenal is a very good attacking side, and while Odegaard has never had creative numbers as high as this season’s, he has been churning out respectable numbers all things considered.
The Arsenal captain ranked 6th for key passes per game last season (2.1) and ranks third in that category this season (2.8), he also ranked joint eight for big chances created last season, and joint 7th for big chances created this season.
There’s more though, as the Norway captain also ranks third in volume of chances created this season, an improvement from 5th in that category last season.
It is also worth noting that Odegaard has completed more through passes than anyone else in the league since the beginning of last season (32), except Bruno Fernandes (33).
All these combined show why Odegaard gets a spot in this series, and in this Tier.
Iago Aspas, Center forward, Celta Vigo
Aspas has been dominating La Liga chance creation ever since Lionel Messi left for France, and he has been competing with the best creators from his little corner in Celta Vigo. At 36 years old, what the Spaniard can do physically is limited, but he has been chief creator at the club for many years and is still making a mark in Europe, chance creation-wise.
Aspas created the second highest volume of chances in La Liga last season (83) and also this season (87). This means he has made the most key passes of any La Liga player since the start of the 2022–23 season (170).
Aspas’ numbers aren’t just inflated by game time either, as he ranked 3rd highest in the league for chances created per game (2.7) last season, and second highest this season (2.2).
The veteran has held his own in big chances too, though more so last season than the current one. The Celta Vigo №10 has created the second most clear-cut chances in La Liga(29) since last season began, ranking №1 for big chances created last season (20).
Aspas has also made the most through passes in the league since last season began (18). Celta Vigo is 15th in the table, with all the quoted numbers, you can only wonder where the club would be without him.
Julian Brandt, Attacking midfielder, Borussia Dortmund
Brandt has very impressive numbers spanning the past two seasons. His consistency has been a bonus for Dortmund, as he has carried the creative burden on that team since the 2022/23 season started.
Brandt ranked 4th highest for key passes per game last season (2.3) and the same for this season (2.6). The German also ranked third highest for volume for chances created last season (73) and interestingly, the same rank for this season as well (79).
This season is Brandt’s most productive in terms of big chances, creating 18 in the league season and ranking second only to Borussia Monchengladbach’s Franck Honorat (19).
His respectable chance creation and big chance numbers earn him a place in this Tier.
Kieran Trippier, Right back, Newcastle United
Trippier really came into his own — creatively — when he returned to the Premier League, lending credence to the theory that the Premier League is more favorable for chance creators than football fans want to admit.
Trippier arrived at Newcastle United last season and rightly made the 2022/23 team of the season, due to his chance creation and all-round performance. He has been injured this season, missing about 10 league games so far, and that has impacted his big chance numbers.
Trippier ranked third for chances created per game last season (2.9), creating 110 chances in all, ranking putting him 2nd-highest in England. This season he has ranked 5th-highest for key passes per game (2.4), unsurprisingly only ranking 11th highest in total volume (65), considering his injuries.
Last season, Tripper created 24 big chances in the league, putting him 4th-highest. This season it’s 8th-highest (14).
The former Tottenham Hotspur right back has been a blessing to his team — which he now captains — especially with his impeccable crossing. The Englishman completed 3.6 crosses per game at an outrageous 34% accuracy last season. This season, he has completed 2.6 at 33%!
Joshua Kimmich, Defensive midfielder, Bayern Munich
Kimmich is quite a special player, and there’s a case for putting him in Tier 1. He is definitely closer to Tier 1 than Tier 2 just for the sheer craziness of his numbers. He is one of the few players in this series who are playing the role of tempo controller as well as chief creator. He is also one of the best at it.
Yes, I know I said that about Groß, but Kimmich is dominating the Bundesliga in several passing metrics, and usually, dominating in one metric usually means you won’t dominate in another. Not Kimmich.
Last season, Kimmich made the most progressive passes in the league (315), which is not surprising or uncommon for a defensive midfielder in a ball-dominant side, what is uncommon is that he ranked second for volume of chances created as well, making him the only player last season in all of Europe to rank top-2 in volume of progressive passes and volume of chances created.
This is because progressive passing volume is usually attributed to tempo controllers, especially holding midfielders, and chance creation volume is usually attributed to chief creators. Dominating in both fields means the German midfield maestro is as good a chance creator as he is a tempo controller, which is ridiculous.
Kimmich’s chance creation numbers per game aren’t dominating the league, but they are dominating Bayern. He created 2.7 chances per game in the 2022/23 league campaign, ranking 2nd-highest. This season, he has dropped to 2.6 chances per game in the league, ranking 4th-highest. He has only started 26 games this season, which has affected his volume of chances created, where he ranks 8th-highest.
Unsurprisingly, his big chance numbers aren’t mind-boggling, which is where his position becomes a factor that cannot be ignored. His big chance numbers are impressive in their own right though, for the position he plays. 11 big chances in each of the last two seasons puts him at №1 for big chances created for defensive midfielders. Yes, more than Rodri.
With 16 completed through passes, no one in the Bundesliga completed more than the 29-year-old since the start of last season, with only Kevin Stoger completing as much.
Being chief creator and tempo controller for a team that has created 4.2 big chances per game on average since the start of last season, the Bayern Munich community has Kimmich to thank for the ability to dominate games the way it has.
You can catch up with me on Twitter (@McNobzy), I discuss all things football (and other things too)
