Arsenal Debate: Is De Bruyne really the best ever midfielder? I think not!

Recently, I saw a comment from Jamie Carragher stating that Kevin De Bruyne is better than Cantona, Zola, and Bergkamp. This of course has led to articles all over the place declaring KDB the greatest player to have graced the Premier League and other such nonsense.

I usually enjoy Carra’s banter with Neville and I think the pair of them have reinvented Sky Sports. However, this comment that De Bruyne is better than the aforementioned legends is frankly ridiculous. Firstly, you can’t accurately compare different eras due to style of play, etc., but more importantly those players don’t even play in the same position as De Bruyne!

Were Carragher to have stated that De Bruyne is better than Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes, Yaya, Özil we could have a discussion, and I still wouldn’t necessarily agree but in truth I actually don’t think he is. For example, Özil’s vision is unsurpassed by anyone, Yaya’s size and physicality made him unplayable, Scholes was a more complete midfielder. Kevin De Bruyne isn’t better than any one of them at their own personal special qualities but does perhaps possess more of all of their qualities than any other. Whether that makes him the best is a matter of personal opinion and not one that can really ever be answered.

De Bruyne doesn’t even seem to really be much of a personality either. Patrick Vieira ran the Invincibles Arsenal midfield, Roy Keane was the engine room and soul of Man Utd during Fergie’s golden era, Frank Lampard scored more goals than Thierry Henry and did it from midfield, Steven Gerrard epitomised his club perhaps more than any other player has in the league’s history. De Bruyne just doesn’t have this same aura of legendary status about him because it takes more than just talent.

Of the players Carra wrongly compared KDB to, I obviously have a fondness for Bergkamp. His size, technique, and nastiness made him a nightmare for defenders. Zola was intensely likeable, but if I am to be truthful I don’t think anyone can argue against Cantona having the greatest effect on the league of the three of them. No player in EPL history has ever had more time on the ball, except for maybe Berbatov. These players have left more of a mark on the league than De Bruyne has.

I think KDB is an incredibly gifted footballer and the best playmaker of his generation, and rightly so is in the discussion for the greatest midfielders to have ever played in the Premier League but I don’t think he can ever truly be the greatest.

Were I to build an all-time EPL XI he wouldn’t make my team because Man City have just kept on rolling without him. To really be considered amongst the best surely that player should leave a hole in the team that when unavailable that cannot be filled.

COYG