Mesut Ozil (Arsenal):
Coming into this season, question marks were being raised as to whether Wenger had overspent on this German World Cup winner a few windows ago, having spent over £40 million. Wenger rarely had gone close to this figure in terms of spending before closing the deal on the attacking midfielder from Real Madrid. The world is finally seeing why Wenger allowed such a huge sum of money to leave the club's coffers in order to get this man. Ozil has strutted his way in to the half season "The Blindsman's Flag" player of the year candidates. Seven assists ahead of his closest competitor on the assists chart, Ozil has split apart so many defences in this campaign with his scintillating passing and extremely quick feet. The latest victim of Ozil's sensational form was Manchester City. Ozil came out of the game with a magnificent return of two assists. Many people were waiting to see "Will he do it against the big teams?" but, his performances against Tottenham, City and United have put those doubts to bed.
The Blindsman's Flag Rating: 9.5
The Blindsman's Flag Rating: 9.5Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace):
Having previously played in the Premier League with Newcastle United and under now Palace manager, Alan Pardew, whilst in the north, the deal for Cabaye was one of the most smart deals that was done last summer. Palace, who suffered a huge upturn in form upon the arrival of Alan Pardew last season, were one or two good additions away from a very strong season. However, I don't think too many Crystal Palace fans would've expected the performances they are getting from their side this season. Sixth, level on points with Tottenham who are in 4th, Palace will be relying on Yohan Cabaye to continue this remarkable form to continue their surge for a European spot. Deceptively strong for his size, a leader who is tenacious in the tackle but also has an extremely classy edge with his shooting and passing, Cabaye has been the real driving force to this Palace side's progression and the 29 year old has provided the Eagles with 5 goals from central midfield, which makes him one of the highest scoring central midfielders in the Premier League this year. Probably not the first name most would put down as a contender for the player of the year, but "The Blindsman's Flag" thinks Cabaye has had a brilliant campaign.
The Blindsman's Flag Rating: 8Romelu Lukaku (Everton):
When Chelsea sold the young, hugely framed, strong, quick and clinical Belgian striker, many people wondered had they lost the new Drogba, but also said that the fee which they received of around £30 million was a very solid amount and they would've been foolish to reject it. However, now, as we watch the demise of their stars such as Costa, one must think that Jose Mourinho's decision to sell this man was one that ultimately bit him on the backside. As the season progresses, week by week, Lukaku has just improved more and more, in my opinion. Lukaku has scored in 7 consecutive games at this moment and people are beginning to wonder if he shall outdo the record of Jamie Vardy which has been much lauded this season. As Everton are having an extremely inconsistent season, "The Blindsman's Flag" believes that Lukaku's form is made that much more impressive, Having scored 13 league goals this season, Lukaku would look a good bet to get the top goalscorer in this campaign with none of the "top forwards"- like Costa, Aguero or Rooney (I'm not deluded, Rooney is no longer very good, he'd still be one of the Premier League forwards with the biggest reputation though) firing to their potential. With service coming from the likes of summer signing Deulofeu, who has an impressive 7 assists, Lukaku knows that the chances will arrive for him in every game and this season, you'd be foolish not to back him to take them.
The Blindsman's Flag Rating: 9.5
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City):
Last Christmas we were all looking at Nigel Pearson's Leicester and thought to ourselves that Leonardo Ulloa was going to be their main source of goals. Should somebody have told us all that Jamie Vardy, whose journey from the lower leagues has been well documented all year, was going to be the top scorer in the Premier League the next season, we'd have laughed. However, following Leicester's remarkable escape from the relegation zone last season, having been bottom at Christmas, confidence has been flowing and well, they now lie at top this Christmas. Jamie Vardy recently broke a record Ruud Van Nistelrooy set a few years ago and entered the Guinness World Record by scoring in 11 consecutive matches. Vardy truly has been sensational and his goal against United was something he more than deserved to break the record. With 15 goals in total this season, Vardy lies on top of the Premier League goalscoring charts and is a key reason for Leicester's stay at the top this Christmas. At the age of 28, one would have to wonder if this is just a fluke season, or if Jamie Vardy is actually the real deal. In my opinion, this really isn't something we'll be able to properly know until next season. But, should Vardy continue his scoring record, Leicester have a very solid chance of reaching the top 4.
The Blindsman's Flag Rating: 10
N'Golo Kante (Leicester City):
This season, Vardy and Mahrez have stolen a lot of the spotlight for their performances and incredible goals records and amount of assists. But, it must be said, the addition of Kante has had a huge impact on the midfield at Leicester. It has only been very recently that Kante has gotten the credit he deserves, since the specific mention he was given on Match of the Day by Danny Murphy. However, Kante has been putting in those energetic displays, creative passes and tackles high up the pitch. Kante, who is now 24, was part of Caen's promotion from Ligue 2 to Ligue 1 two seasons ago and the 24 year old has been, along with the arrival of "The Tinkerman" Claudio Ranieri, one of the main changes made at the King Power stadium that has allowed for this increase in performance levels. Kante arrived for a value of £5.6 million pounds, but has proven to be worth so much more than that since his arrival and it won't be long before the so-called "bigger clubs" begin to circle around Kante and spend much, much more than that figure to take him away from Leicester's grasp. Arsene Wenger, who had reportedly looked at Kante for Arsenal, will surely regret not making the move on this relatively unknown commodity in England, whilst he was that.
The Blindsman's Flag Rating: 9
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City):
At the beginning of the season, I asked my brother (@GisGoos12) who he thought Leicester's key player would be in this campaign. I listed out suggestions like Wes Morgan, Leonardo Ulloa and Jamie Vardy. He laughed me off really and said with a lot of certainty that Riyad Mahrez was their key player. It is now that I will concede to him: He was 100% right. Now, that being said, I'm pretty sure he didn't expect the Algerian to light up the Premier League quite as much as he has so far this season. It is bizarre when Jamie Vardy has scored in a Premier League record breaking 11 consecutive matches and hasn't, in my opinion anyways, been Leicester's best player in this campaign. This season, Mahrez has broken a record of his own in the Premier League. Not quite as contested, but something that would make him very proud, as he became the first Algerian in Premier League history to score a hat trick. Having scored an amazing 4 goals in the first 3 matches, many of us thought Mahrez would die off in the following weeks, But, this hasn't happened. In fact, some would say he is improving week by week. This explosive winger, who is renowned for cutting in from the right hand side and tormenting defenders with his dazzling feet, could very well keep up this form. Should he manage to do so, we will more than likely see Leicester in the Champions League spots come May. His sensational form that has seen him with 13 goals and 7 assists, has led to rumours linking him with Manchester United, Arsenal and even short-term links to Barcelona. As daft as them rumours may have seemed at the beginning of the season, there is no doubting that this 24 year old is one of the world's hottest properties at the moment.
The Blindsman's Flag Rating:10
Eric Dier (Tottenham):
Had anybody said to me at the very beginning of this campaign that Mauricio Pochettino's plan for his midfield was to play Eric Dier, Dembele and Dele Alli, I'd simply have asked "How long before the Argentinian manager gets the sack?" However, this has turned out to be something of a masterstroke, with the youth of Tottenham sitting pretty in 4th place at Christmas, which is something of a pleasant surprise for the fans, who in all truth, like me, were not expecting much from this young bunch that Pochettino has assembled. Eric Dier's arrival into central midfield was something which I think only occurred due to Nabil Bentaleb's unfortunate injury. However, Eric Dier, the young English right/centre back (which he was signed as) has made the most of his opportunity and has begun to look like he's played in this position all of his career. Providing strength, a small bit of speed (not going to pretend he's as quick as lightning or anything), a great sense of positional discipline and a lot of intensity to Spurs' high press game, Dier's form has been that impressive that he found himself making his debut for England in November of this year. Dier has even added a threat from set pieces and his eagerness to attack the ball has been something that has allowed him to score 3 goals this season also. Having only missed one match in this campaign, it is clear that Dier has become something of a key man for Spurs and should he continue his form, there's no reason why Spurs won't finish out this campaign in the top 4.
Rating:8.5
Odion Ighalo (Watford):
Watford entered this campaign with a lot of uncertainty, having just been promoted from the Championship. Last summer, we saw the arrival of Quique Sanchez Flores, who had formerly led Valencia to Champions League qualification and Atletico Madrid to Europa League glory, but had found himself managing in the Middle East in recent years. However, anybody who enjoys Spanish football would know how much of a coup the Spaniard was for Watford, Watford haven't been slow making an impression on the Premier League this season. For a newly promoted side, their defence is quite strong. However, no Watford player has made an impact on this campaign quite like Ighalo. Up front alongside fans' favourite Troy Deeney, Ighalo has not taken long to make the leap from the Championship to the Premier League. Having scored 20 goals last season in Watford's promotion campaign, Ighalo has continued to blow away defences with a string of consistently good performances, none better than that he put in against Liverpool in Watford's most recent fixture. With 12 goals, Ighalo lies near the top of the goalscoring charts and Watford will need many more performances from him should they continue to hit their current dizzying heights of 7th in the Premier League. Ighalo became Watford's highest ever goalscorer in a Premier League season when he notched his 7th goal, in his brace against West Ham. Since then, he has added 5 more and really, he hasn't shown signs of letting up.
The Blindsman's Flag Rating:9
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