Stats Analysis: The Premier League's Most Involved - Touches per Minute

It's fair to say that while some roles require less of an apparent involvement in play in terms of time spent on the ball, there are certainly a number of players who feel the need to make themselves available to a teammate at every opportunity. These are, in turn, the individuals that colleagues are constantly looking to pick out, knowing that more often than not they will be capable of retaining possession and launching attacks.

With this in mind we have analysed the players to have the most touches per minute this season to ascertain their importance to the team when on the field of play. The top 3 that we are focusing on here are the only players in the league to average more than a touch every minute, and while two may be rather obvious representatives, few would predict one man who doesn't always get the credit he merits for his willingness to show for the ball.

We start, this time, at the top of the leaderboard, and undoubtedly the most surprising candidate of all. With central midfielders, as expected, dominating the upper end of the results, the emergence of Swansea right-back Angel Rangel at the top of the entire league is remarkable.

Angel Rangel (Swansea) - 1.11 Touches per Minute

With the Swans attacking down their and Rangel's right side 41% of the time it is perhaps unsurprising to see that he is so involved. Only Stoke focus more of their attacks down that flank and with key man Scott Sinclair on the opposite wing, Rodgers’ and the Swansea players’ confidence in their full-back is clear to see, often overlooking the out-ball of the former Chelsea man, who takes far more of the plaudits.

The reason for the Spaniard's weighty contribution to the side is born in the fact that they build from the back at every opportunity. Perfectly happy to control the tempo of the game from their own half, only Blackburn keep more of their possession in their own territory than Swansea's 31%, with the newly promoted side lowest in the league for possession in the opposition half with just 22%, despite attracting deserved praise for being a fluid and attacking outfit.

The fact that Rangel only has 1 assist to his name this season, and is yet to open his Premier League account, may frustrate the defender but while his tackles per game average of 2.3 is lower than left-back Taylor, he trumps the Welshman in most regards. A tally of 2.9 interceptions per game is the highest at the club and indicative of a willingness to get on the ball and break up opponents play, and when he is in possession he's rarely wasteful, with an 84.1% pass accuracy which incorporates 3.4 long balls per game and an impressive 7 successful through balls from just 8 attempts.

Yaya Toure (Manchester City) - 1.05 Touches per Minute

Behind Rangel in second comes Manchester City's talismanic midfielder Yaya Toure, whose 5 league game hiatus to play at the African Cup of Nations coincided with one of Mancini's side's most notable drops in form, if not in league results. Despite winning 4 of their league matches in his absence, City only managed to do so by 1 goal on 3 of those occasions, slipping to a disappointing defeat at Everton on the other. They also crashed out of both the FA and League Cup to United and Liverpool respectively; with those suggesting this would allow them to focus on running away with the title sorely mistaken.

In his absence in the league, City's averages for possession, pass accuracy and shots all dropped. They managed 57.2% of possession without him compared to 58.2% with, mustered 17 shots per game compared to 19.3 when Toure has been in the side and were accurate with 83.4% of their passes compared to 86.5% when the Ivorian is involved. Toure's 90.7% pass accuracy is crucial to the side in possession and he bosses the centre of the park, with only Swansea holding more of their possession in the middle third than City's 46%.

The former Barca player's involvement at the heart of every move for the Citizens is most clear when noting that he averages 81.6 passes per game, with central midfield partner Barry next best, way back on 62.5. Despite his assuredness in possession, Toure isn't your typical safety-first defensive midfielder, averaging 6 long balls, 0.4 through balls and 1.7 key passes per game, helping him to 4 assists. He has also netted 4 goals from 2 shots per match and chips in with 1.7 tackles per game, beating de Jong's figure in the process and proving that he is the epitome of an all-action midfielder.

Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) - 1.03 Touches per Minute

The third and final player to average more than a touch per minute; Mikel Arteta's impact at Arsenal has gone under the radar somewhat, though the reserved Spaniard won't mind that. The 30-year-old leads Arsenal for passes per game, with 78, on average, some way ahead of his double-pivot partner and the next best at the club Alex Song, on 63.5. The fact that his pass accuracy, at 90.5%, is also best for the Gunners is all the more impressive, with said accuracy a superb achievement having also led the way for long balls per match, with 5.3.

His 2.2 key passes per match is only down on van Persie's 2.4, but when taking set pieces out of the equation he is equal to the Dutchman, with 1.4 on average. A tally of just 2 assists is therefore disappointing; with fewer than 4% of chances he has created being converted thus far, though a wonder goal at Villa last time out boosted his attacking input and goal tally to 5 in the red of Arsenal. Arteta's importance to attacks shouldn't be underestimated, however, with only Fulham and Blackburn choosing to attack through the middle of the pitch more often than Arsenal's 32%.

Like Swansea and City before, Arsenal are another side that control possession in central areas, with 45% of their play held in the middle third only down on the aforementioned duo, and Arteta perhaps the key-contributing factor. To think that he is just in the team to retain possession and create, however, is wide of the mark, with Wenger's deepest lying midfielder Alex Song only averaging slightly more than Arteta's 2.5 tackles and 1.9 interceptions per game, with 2.8 and 2 respectively.