VfL Wolfsburg is enjoying a wonderful streak of form in the Bundesliga. They have been unbeaten for the last nine games and have won their previous four matches. While the scoring and defence have been top-notch, there is one name that, even though it doesn’t appear much on the scoresheet, is incredibly important for the Wolves. We are talking about Wolfsburg captain and defensive midfielder Maximilian Arnold, who is the glue that keeps the team together. Playing the role of a defensive midfielder, Arnold is at the heart of everything for Wolfsburg- from making tackles in the defensive third to providing the final ball, he can do it all. The onus of taking set pieces is also on Arnold, and he does a great job at that. Therefore, as Maximilian Arnold enjoys another great season, we look at his stats to understand his importance to the team.
Performance this season
Maximilian Arnold has made 15 appearances this season and has been a regular starter in all the matches. He has scored three goals and has two assists to his name as well.
The above visual shows Maximilian Arnold’s percentile rank compared to other defensive midfielders in the Bundesliga. He has good attacking and passing stats. He is ranked in the top 87.45 percentile for goal contributions per 90 minutes and the top 83.3 percentile for shots per 90 minutes. In passing, he is ranked in the top 83.3 percentile for dangerous passes per game and the top 70.8 percentile for progressive passes per game. He has decent stats for aerial duels, but his stats are not that good in defensive duels compared to other defensive midfielders in the Bundesliga.
Defensive game
The above visual shows Maximilian Arnold’s defensive territory. As we can observe, he plays as a defensive midfielder and makes some important tackles in the middle of the field. On average, Arnold makes around 5.74 interceptions per game for Wolfsburg, which are crucial to stopping the opposition from entering the defensive third or the penalty box. Moreover, he takes part in around 5.09 defensive duels per game with a success rate of 55.7%. Apart from the defensive duels, he also takes part in around 1.87 aerial duels per game with a success rate of 51.7%. He is the connecting link between Wolfsburg’s defence and attack.
Shot assists and set pieces
The above visual shows the shot assists made by Maximilian Arnold in the current season of the Bundesliga. Arnold, who is responsible for almost all the set pieces for Wolfsburg, is capable of playing some tantalising balls. As he plays more in a central position, he plays very few crosses but is very capable of providing one if need be. As we can see from the visual, he takes some good free kicks and has two assists from free kicks. He averages 1.48 shot assists per game.
Passing game
With a passing accuracy of 82.8%, Maximilian Arnold is an important player for Wolfsburg in the middle of the field. As we observed in the pizza chart, he is ranked in the top 83.3 percentile for dangerous passes per 90 and plays around 5.74 passes into the final third per game. On top of that, he plays 1.74 passes into the penalty box per game with a success rate of 59.3%. His vision and the ability to pick out the right pass make him an important player for the Wolves.
The above visual compares the radars of Maximilian Arnold and Joshua Kimmich. The former plays as a defensive midfielder for VfL Wolfsburg, while the latter plays as a defensive midfielder in a double pivot for Bayern Munich. Kimmich, who is the preferred player in that position for both his club and country, has better stats in almost all parameters. Arnold has better stats than Kimmich in aerial duels and goal contributions per 90 minutes, while Kimmich leads in all other metrics.
Maximilian Arnold is one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the Bundesliga. He is a vital part of the Wolfsburg midfield line and is in charge of quick transitions. He has all the ingredients to be a defensive midfielder: passing, vision, and defensive awareness. With his ability to deliver good set pieces on top of that, Wolfsburg couldn’t have asked for a better player in that position.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
