How many players has each Premier League club used already?
Arsenal have already used a weirdly massive number of different players this season. Burnley are sticking to the stereotype this time around having markedly failed to do so last year…
Arsenal – 26 players
Most minutes: Kieran Tierney (336)
>300mins: 1 player (Tierney)
<50mins: 5 players (Elneny, Tavares, Lacazette, Partey, Nelson)
Last season: 29 players
The only team already without an ever-present, while everyone else has at least four players with 300 league minutes under their belts this season. Four games in and Tierney is already Arsenal’s only regular. Partly that’s down to the club being a shambles, sure, but it also reflects the difficulties that have been imposed upon Mikel Arteta thanks to injury and illness and sh*tness. Arsenal have already used more players this season than seven teams in the whole of the last one.
Aston Villa – 22 players
Most minutes: Matty Cash (360)
>300mins: 5 players (Cash, Konsa, Ings, Targett, El Ghazi)
<50mins: 4 players (Traore, Ramsey, Chukwuemeka, Lindley)
Last season: 24 players
And one of those teams to use fewer than 26 players last season was Villa. It looks unlikely they’ll match last season’s tally of 24 having turned to 22 already. They weren’t kidding about replacing Jack Grealish with three or four.
Leicester – 21 players
Most minutes: Schmeichel, Tielemans, Ndidi, Soyuncu (360)
>300mins: 6 players (Schmeichel, Tielemans, Ndidi, Soyuncu, Vardy, Maddison)
<50mins: 5 players (Soumare, Evans, Daka, Lookman, Dewsbury-Hall)
Last season: 27 players
So very many injuries, again and already.
Tottenham – 20 players
Most minutes: Lloris, Hojbjerg, Dele, Reguilon, Skipp (360)
>300mins: 6 players (Lloris, Hojbjerg, Dele, Reguilon, Skipp, Tanganga)
<50mins: 4 players (Lo Celso, Davies, Doherty, Bryan)
Last season: 24 players
Dele Alli is already over halfway to matching his total Premier League minutes from last season. Oliver Skipp has already more than doubled his career Premier League minutes this season.
Watford – 20 players
Most minutes: Bachmann, Troost-Ekong, Sarr (360)
>300mins: 5 players (Bachmann, Troost-Ekong, Sarr, Etebo, Dennis)
<50mins: 3 players (Louza, Deeney, Gosling)
Last season: 34 players (Championship)
Will do well to match last year’s total with the core of this year’s team already crystallising.
Chelsea – 20 players
Most minutes: Mendy, Rudiger (360)
>300mins: 4 players (Mendy, Rudiger, Alonso, Jorginho)
<50mins: 2 players (Niguez, Emerson)
Last season: 27 players
Only Arsenal (0) and Villa (1) have fewer ever-presents at this early stage of the season. Antonio Rudiger’s return to favour after almost ending up at Spurs of all places is quite something too. It wasn’t until January last season that he racked up four full appearances last season.
Manchester United – 20 players
Most minutes: De Gea, Maguire, Shaw, Wan-Bissaka (360)
>300mins: 7 players (De Gea, Maguire, Shaw, Wan-Bissaka, Fernandes, Greenwood, Pogba)
<50mins: 3 players (Cavani, Lingard, Van de Beek)
Last season: 29 players
Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood and Paul Pogba are all within 15 minutes of the ever-presents. Next on the list comes dear old Fred.
Newcastle – 20 players
Most minutes: Woodman, Ritchie, Saint-Maximin, Almiron (360)
>300mins: 4 players (Woodman, Ritchie, Saint-Maximin, Almiron)
<50mins: 3 players (Fraser, Hendrick, Lewis)
Last season: 27 players
Giving Dwight Gayle that new contract to sit, unused, on the bench 38 times is going to be one of the season’s great low-key banters.
Brentford – 19 players
Most minutes: Raya, Jansson, Norgaard, Toney, Henry, Pinnock (360)
>300mins: 10 players (Raya, Jansson, Norgaard, Toney, Henry, Pinnock, Ajer, Janelt, Mbeumo, Canos)
<50mins: 6 players (Wissa, Jensen, Rasmussen, Sorensen, Bidstrup, Forss)
Last season: 29 players (Championship)
Our entirely arbitrary yet also correct 300-minute mark reveals a first XI has almost totally taken shape already for the newly promoted Bees.
Everton – 19 players
Most minutes: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Allan, Digne, Doucoure (360)
>300mins: 8 players (Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Allan, Digne, Doucoure, Richarlison, Gray)
<50mins: 4 players (Gomes, Rondon, Delph, Gordon)
Last season: 29 players
And that eight would be nine but for Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injury. Will James Rodriguez force his way back in or will he just bugger off in January? Breath officially baited.
Norwich – 19 players
Most minutes: Krul, Hanley, Aarons (360)
>300mins: 5 players (Krul, Hanley, Aarons, Melou, Pukki)
<50mins: 3 players (Mumba, Sargent, Idah)
Last season: 30 players (Championship)
A table the Canaries can enjoy because they sit squarely and comfortably in mid-table. Todd Cantwell misses out on a regulars spot by six minutes after dropping to the bench against Arsenal. We don’t make the rules. Well, we do. But still.
Brighton – 19 players
Most minutes: Sanchez, Duffy, Dunk, Bissouma (360)
>300mins: 7 players (Sanchez, Duffy, Dunk, Bissouma, Trossard, Maupay, Webster)
<50mins: 2 players (Connolly, Richards)
Last season: 27 players
The apparent ease with which Brighton held on to the magnificent and ever-present Yves Bissouma remains a source of great bafflement. Hard to think of a team he wouldn’t improve, never mind a squad.
Manchester City – 19 players
Most minutes: Ederson, Cancelo, Dias (360)
>300mins: 6 players (Ederson, Cancelo, Dias, Grealish, Gundogan, Torres)
<50mins: 2 players (Palmer, De Bruyne)
Last season: 24 players
Biggest takeaway here is that Manchester City used fewer players in the Premier League last season than Burnley.
Wolves – 18 players
Most minutes: Sa, Marcal, Kilman, Neves, Jimenez (360)
>300mins: 10 players (Sa, Marcal, Kilman, Neves, Jimenez, Coady, Saiss, Traore, Moutinho, Trincao)
<50mins: 6 players (Dendoncker, Podence, Hwang, Silva, Gibbs-White, Nouri)
Last season: 27 players
Along with West Ham the most clearly defined first XI going. Coady, Saiss and Traore have all been off the field for just a handful of minutes, while Nelson Semedo (270 mins) and Ki-Jana Hoever (90 mins) are currently on a job share at right-back. Everyone outside those 12 is feeding on scraps.
Crystal Palace – 18 players
Most minutes: Guaita, Ward, Guehi, Mitchell, Zaha (360)
>300mins: 8 players (Guaita, Ward, Guehi, Mitchell, Zaha, McArthur, Kouyate, Andersen)
<50mins: 4 players (Milivojevic, Rak-Sakyi, Edouard, Olise)
Last season: 24 players
Gut feeling: Odsonne Edouard probably won’t stay in that last category for long.
Southampton – 18 players
Most minutes: McCarthy, Stephens, Livramento, Salisu, Stephens, Ward-Prowse (360)
>300mins: 9 players (McCarthy, Stephens, Livramento, Salisu, Stephens, Ward-Prowse, Armstrong, Romeu, Djenepo)
<50mins: 3 players (Bednarek, Broja, Tella)
Last season: 29 players
Tino Livramento had never played a Premier League minute until this season and now hasn’t missed a single Premier League minute of this one.
Leeds – 18 players
Most minutes: Meslier, Ayling, Cooper, Dallas, Raphinha (360)
>300mins: 7 players (Meslier, Ayling, Cooper, Dallas, Raphinha, Bamford, Harrison)
<50mins: 2 players (James, Costa)
Last season: 23 players
Dan James will escape the bit-part category; Helder Costa will not. Kalvin Phillips (270mins) will soon join the ranks of the regulars.
Liverpool – 18 players
Most minutes: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Mane, Salah (360)
>300mins: 6 players (Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Mane, Salah)
<50mins: None
Last season: 28 players
So six undroppables and a solid core of reliable squad sorts based on our deeply scientific investigations.
West Ham – 17 players
Most minutes: Fabianski, Coufal, Cresswell, Ogbonna, Dawson, Soucek, Rice (360)
>300mins: 11 players (Fabianski, Coufal, Cresswell, Ogbonna, Dawson, Soucek, Rice, Antonio, Fornals, Bowen, Benrahma
<50mins: 6 players (Vlasic, Yarmolenko, Lanzini, Noble, Fredericks, Johnson)
Last season: 24 players
That is a well-defined starting XI. And not only a settled line-up but a pretty decent one too, in fairness. Still takes some getting used to, that. West Ham are the only Premier League team where every player used thus far fits into one of our arbitrarily defined ‘regular’ or ‘bit-part’ categories.
Burnley – 16 players
Most minutes: Pope, Lowton, Taylor, Tarkowski, Mee (360)
>300mins: 8 players (Pope, Lowton, Taylor, Tarkowski, Mee, McNeil, Wood, Gudmundsson)
<50mins: 3 players (Lennon, Vydra, Pieters)
Last season: 25 players
Genuinely cannot process the idea that Burnley used more players than Manchester City or Spurs in the Premier League last season. Just… how? This year shows early promise of adhering much more neatly to the lazy stereotype in our head.