Arda Guler is almost silently putting together an incredible season for Real Madrid as a provider, and according to statistics by Squawka, the Turkish international’s 25 chances created in the current Champions League campaign are the most ever by a player younger than 21 to start the season in the history of the competition.
This season, Guler has registered four assists in the Champions League with a robust 2.8 key passes per game, meanwhile, the attacking midfielder is also having a stellar La Liga season with 7 assists and 2.2 key passes per match in a highly defensive league.
Initially a right winger at the Santiago Bernabeu, Guler has found his home as either a deep-lying playmaker or an attacking playmaker, thriving with the intelligence of passing that we haven’t seen out of a young player before – even Mesut Ozil wasn’t this prolific of a playmaker at the same age.
Granted, the caveat with any Champions League record is that there are more games played with the new league phase format than before, but when you break his numbers down on a per game basis, Guler’s playmaking is still elite and legendary for his age.
The 21-year-old Guler is becoming the Ozil to Kylian Mbappe’s Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, and as he continues to advance physically, his numbers from midfield will only grow scarier.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.