Using data to identify the next big wingers

Here are 25 wide forwards having a good start to 2023-2024

Everyone loves a winger. They’re fast, twitchy, technical and dynamic.

Do Arsenal need another wide player? That’s up for debate. But that’s never stopped me from throwing guys into a list, has it?

Here’s the deal:

• This list is created relying fully on statistics from this season. It’s early! Expect this to change quite a bit from now to spring, as per usual.

• Please note this data was pulled prior to this past weekend’s games. With so many games it can be tough to keep up, so you’ve got to pick a day and go with it!

• The minutes mark is still low for many players. I required 8.0 90s, or 720 minutes, of league play to qualify for this rank. My usual normal is 900. So there could be some guys lurking in the high-600-minute realm ready to appear later.

• I generally aimed toward pre-prime or early prime, so again you’ll find no 28+ players here.

• These guys don’t all do exactly the same role. Some are touchline wingers, others play farther inside. But they’re all in my “wide forward” family, meaning a guy who’s generally up front and not down the middle.

• I always encourage a healthy dose of the eye test before forming a final opinion on any player, so consume responsibly.

• There is obviously a subjective element to any man-made formulaic ranking. But for the record, these rankings are based on performance across 18 statistics, each with different weight toward the final score.

• All scores are subject to an adjustment according to league strength, so you shouldn’t have to mentally raise or lower rankings to make it more “fair.”