Picking the best all-round midfielder from the Premier League era is always subjective but Wayne Rooney believes Arsenal have experienced one of the all-time greats.
Rooney knows his way around the game in terms of playing with and against top class opposition.
And according to Rooney, Arsenal fans have been treated to one of the best to ever do it in the middle of the park.
Where does Patrick Vieira rank among the BEST EVER Premier League midfielders?
Wayne Rooney names Patrick Vieira among the Premier League’s best ever midfielders
Every Arsenal fan appreciates how good Patrick Vieira was but with that many podcasts and shows now, he does often get overlooked when people debate the ‘best’.
Rooney, though, believes the Gunners legend was right up there.
Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, the former England striker gave his take on the best five midfielders in the Premier League, including Vieira.
“When you’re talking about the complete midfield player, there’s five really for me in Premier League, four I played with, one I didn’t,” Rooney commented.
“And that was Gerrard, Scholes, Carrick, Vieira, and Lampard.”
Patrick Vieira’s Premier League record compared to Rooney’s other picks
Rooney missed the boat with Roy Keane but he’d surely get a mention if Rooney was to think this through again.
However, in terms of the five mentioned here, it’s nice to see Vieira recognised. Indeed, the basic stats very much show Vieira was a dominant Premier League force.
| Player | Premier League apps | Goals | Assists |
| Patrick Vieira | 307 | 31 | 34 |
| Michael Carrick | 481 | 24 | 40 |
| Paul Scholes | 499 | 107 | 55 |
| Frank Lampard | 609 | 177 | 102 |
| Steven Gerrard | 504 | 120 | 92 |
Interestingly, Rooney picked Gerrard out of the five in terms of going with one midfielder to do it all.
Furthermore, he also admitted he’d have loved Gerrard at Man United. Had that happened, then United would have won even more under Sir Alex.
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