Top Five Premier League ‘Enigmas’: We Look At The Stars Who Never Lived Up To Their Potential

David Tully

1 year ago

Categories: Galleries, Manchester City News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Chelsea, Everton, leeds, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Southampton, spurs, West Ham, wolves

In today’s post, we will be profiling some of the Premier League’s greatest enigmas. Players who possessed the talent to go far in the game but never really made the most of their gifts.

A lot of the time, it comes down to mentality. A footballer may have outstanding natural talents but they lack the application or right attitude to reach their potential.

The five players on our list all qualify as enigmas in one way or another, with some having had more success in English football than others.

Press the next page as we go through the Premier League stars who flattered to deceive:

Mario Balotelli

‘Super Mario’ is probably the ultimate enigma of the Premier League era. He was capable of the sublime and ridiculous in equal measure.

Balotelli was probably at his most consistent during his time at Manchester City with Roberto Mancini in charge but even then, we only saw flashes of brilliance. The less said about his time at Liverpool, the better.

Anthony Martial

Manchester United shelled out £58m on the Frenchman in 2015 but injuries and inconsistent form mean he has only shown glimpses of his true potential.

You could actually argue that his sublime goal against Liverpool on his debut is probably still the highlight of his Old Trafford career, despite the fact that he has spent over seven years in England.

Andrey Arshavin

The Russian had moments of sheer genius, such as scoring all four goals in the 4-4 draw against Liverpool in 2009, but those moments were not as frequent as you would expect from someone of his talent.

Arshavin performed pretty well during the first eighteen months of his time at the Emirates but, it is often forgotten that he spent four and a half years in London, before he eventually left on a permanent basis in the summer of 2013.

Alvaro Morata

Some may claim that the Spaniard was an outright flop, rather than just an enigma, but he scored nine goals (including a hat-trick against Stoke) in his first 14 league appearances for Chelsea.

Morata was, however, a confidence player and he later admitted that he found the pressure of playing for the Blues too much. Since leaving Chelsea, he has had spells at Atletico Madrid and Juventus, where he has been equally enigmatic.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Despite periods of excellent form for both Arsenal and Liverpool, injuries and inconsistent performances have blighted the midfielder’s career.

Oxlade-Chamberlain was outstanding in the second half of the 2017/18 campaign for Jurgen Klopp’s side, helping the team reach the Champions League final, but a serious knee injury ended his season. Arguably, he hasn’t been the same player since.