Risers: Ben White has had a few sticky games in 2023 and when Tomiyasu came in on Saturday, you can fully understand why. White came on and looked to have a better understanding with Saka and was more comfortable in the final third, managing to score the equaliser with his first ever Arsenal goal.
Martin Odegaard had a very influential game without scoring or assisting, he’s moved back into second place, whilst the fit-again Thomas Partey has crept back into the top ten, if he keeps fit he should continue to progress.
Outside the top 10, Reiss Nelson’s performance saw him rise from 17th to 13th. Can he build on that moment and become a key part of the run-in for Mikel Arteta?
Fallers: After reaching a peak of second place following his two goals against Everton, Odegaard swapped places back with Gabriel Martinelli who struggled to be as influential against Bournemouth. That could partly be down to the fact he didn’t have Trossard with him after the 20th minute – as I wrote about last week, Trossard’s introduction into the XI was getting the best out of Martinelli.
How the players Power Rankings have varied in 2023
Now that we have a decent set of data points, I will also share in this newsletter a season tracker from time to time. It’s a little hard to track with so many players, but interesting nonetheless when you see the trends.
Bukayo Saka has almost always been at the top in 2023, marginally pipped one week. Odegaard has also pretty consistently been second, whilst Martinelli is a bit less consistent, hitting second at one point, but dropping out the top five on other occasions.
With Gabriel Jesus now back in training, it is going to be really interesting to see how high and how quickly the Brazilian heads back up towards the top.
Thomas Partey’s yellow line also highlights his importance, only dropping from the top five when he is out injured.