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Super Eagles star Joe Aribo is mixing it with the big boys with his performances for Southampton so far in the Premier League.
Super Eagles midfielder Joe Aribo is rated as one of the most aggressive players in the English Premier League, five months into the 2022/2023 season.
According to renowned statistics company, Squawka, Joe Aribo ranks in an impressive fourth position on the chart of Premier League players with the most possession won in the final third.
Only Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne (20), Leeds United’s Jack Harrison (19), and Brighton & Hove Albion’s Leandro Trossard (18) are ranked better than the Nigerian playmaker (17).
Joe Aribo's pressing excellence
Aribo has won the ball back from the opposition in the danger areas more times than Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard (16), Chelsea’s Mason Mount (14), and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (14).
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The Nigerian has featured in all of Southampton’s 15 Premier League matches, with 10 as a starter, totalling 948 minutes of action since joining the Saints last summer in a £7 million deal from Rangers.
The 26-year-old star has also managed two league goals and received one yellow card and has been a regular for the club.
Joe Aribo's physicality and aggression
Aribo’s creativity, physicality, and aggressiveness have added more stability and bite to the Southampton attack.
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Interestingly, it has emerged that Aribo is one of the most aggressive players in the English top flight when his team is out of possession.
Despite Aribo’s input, Southampton have struggled and fumbled during the first half of the campaign.
Before the Qatar 2022 World Cup break, the Saints recorded only three wins and three draws in 15 league matches. And with only 12 points amassed so far, Southampton sit just above bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers on the EPL table.
The Premier League returns on Boxing Day, and Joe Aribo will likely be involved when the Saints host Brighton & Hove Albion by 4 pm.
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