N’Zogbia’s Outstanding Dribbling Fact or Fiction?

After Aston Villa completed the signing of Charles N'Zogbia for the reasonably modest fee of £9.5m they undoubtedly secured the services of one of the Premier League's most threatening wingers. The Frenchman is renowned for his dribbling ability and it isn't hard to see why.

The 25-year-old attempted a huge 282 runs at opponents last season, over double the amount of fellow wing wizard Nani on 139, but just how good is he at beating his man.

Based on the Premier League's top 5 players to have completed more dribbles per game than their competitors it is no surprise to see the former Wigan man make the leader board. We look at who is the most successful when it comes to dribbling based on the percentage of occasions in which they outfox their opponent, with some interesting outcomes.

We also investigate the other aspects of Charles N'Zogbia's game that will benefit his new club following the departures of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing from Villa Park.

Dribbling

N'Zogbia
Villa's newest recruit's astronomical figure of 282 dribbles attempted last season came from 34 appearances at a rate of 8.29 per game, with only Luis Suarez coming close to that figure following his arrival at Anfield in January.

In completing 110 of said attempts (3.24 per game), N'Zogbia obtained a success rate of 39%, which is still highly respectable, but when compared to his counterparts in this regard, fares poorly.

Suarez
Liverpool's star man toward the latter end of last season, Uruguayan Luis Suarez caught the eye with some all action displays, with his dribbling figures set to rival N'Zogbia's efforts next term. Having attempted 92 runs at defenders in just 13 starts, Suarez averaged 7.08 dribbles per game last term.

When it comes to actually getting the better of your opponent, the forward was successful 3.23 times per match last season, which is extremely close to N'Zogbia's list-high 3.24. Therefore, his success rate when it comes to dribbling is markedly greater, beating his man with 46% of his runs.

Nani
Portuguese international Nani was a standout performer in United's title winning side last season, with the wingers dribbling unsurprisingly a high point to his fantastic campaign. Of our 5 analysed players he attempted the second most dribbles with 139, at a rate of 4.21 per game.

Although this figure is significantly lower than N'Zogbia, he was successful with 81 of these attempts (2.45 per game). His outstanding trickery therefore saw him finish the season with a spectacular dribble success rate of 58%, which is something for N'Zogbia to aspire to.

Modric
Tottenham's playmaker Luka Modric has drawn widespread attention this summer, not least from London rivals Chelsea. It is plain to see why new manager Andre Villas-Boas is so keen to bring in the little Croat, but his dribbling is a facet to his game which is often underestimated after he attempted 3.41 runs at opponents per game from his deep-lying role.

However, the real truth to Modric's excellence when it comes to dribbling is represented in his success rate. Having beaten his man 2.16 times per game the centre midfielder was successful with an extraordinary 63% of his voyages past defenders, indicative of his brilliance in this department.

Hoilett
Young Blackburn prospect David 'Junior' Hoilett's appearance in our top 5 will surprise many but is a testament to the Canadian's first full season in the Premier League. Having played from wide, centrally and in behind the striker last season, the 21-year-old attempted a fantastic 4.54 dribbles per game.

Having beaten his opponent 2.13 times on average per match, the fifth highest total in the league, Hoilett reached a hugely promising 47% success rate in this regard, not only the better of N'Zogbia but also of Liverpool's Suarez.

Goal Contributions

An area in which Aston Villa have had to strengthen following this summer's departures at the club has been an ability to not only score goals but assist others as well, and N'Zogbia certainly doesn't disappoint in the former aspect.

The France international netted 9 times last term, with Downing and Young notching 7 apiece, and the replacement's strike rate will add to a Villa attack which is overly reliant on Darren Bent at times. N'Zogbia's tally came from an average of 1.6 shots per game, the same as Downing's figure but lower than Young's 2.1. His chance conversion rate is therefore significantly higher having netted once every 6.04 shots attempted.

In comparison with his fellow dribbling experts, this rate fares extremely well, bettered only by Hoilett's hugely encouraging strike rate of 1 goal every 4.8 shots. The ex-Latics man's ratio is almost double that of both Nani and Suarez in the same regard with 11.37 and 11.7 respectively, while top dribbler Luka Modric fared even worse with a goal every 12.8 shots.

When it comes to crossing, Nani is untouchable amongst the leading 5 dribblers, attributing to his excellent 14 assists. Having attempted a massive 6.39 deliveries per game he reached his target with a highly commendable 25% of said attempts. Suarez's figure of 23% is next best, followed by N'Zogbia on 19% who ranked second for assists with 5.

Assumptions that the Frenchman is merely a dribbler therefore are somewhat dispelled, with predecessor Downing's score of 21% only slightly superior. Despite trying fewer crosses, Luka Modric and David Hoilett's accuracy of 14% and 17% respectively could be improved.