Ranking the top 10 ‘Streets Won’t Forget’ Premier League Midfielders of the 2000s and 2010s

There is something special about a footballer who makes you stop what you’re doing and watch. Not necessarily because he plays for a title contender, collects individual awards or produces impressive numbers every weekend, but because you never quite know what he’s going to do next.

The Premier League has had plenty of those players. The 2000s and 2010s were particularly rich in midfielders who played with personality, produced moments of outrageous technical quality and occasionally made the extraordinary look routine.

Some were genuine superstars. Others were cult heroes who became legends at clubs that rarely challenged for the biggest prizes. A few had careers that were as unconventional as their playing styles.

But they all had something in common: they gave football fans moments they won’t forget.

Here are 10 Premier League midfielders from the 2000s and 2010s whose names deserve to live forever in football nostalgia.

10. Tugay Kerimoğlu (Blackburn Rovers, 2001–2009)

There have been plenty of technically gifted midfielders in Premier League history, but few have been quite as unconventional as Tugay Kerimoğlu. The Turkish midfielder arrived at Blackburn Rovers from Rangers in 2001 for approximately £1.3 million, already 30 years old. What followed was an eight-year spell that made him one of the most beloved players in the club’s modern history.

Tugay made 233 Premier League appearances for Blackburn, scoring 10 goals and providing 14 assists. Those numbers don’t begin to explain his appeal. He was a deep-lying playmaker who could dictate the tempo, pick out extraordinary passes with either foot and seemingly find space where none existed.

And then there were the goals. His strikes were almost exclusively spectacular long-range efforts, none more memorable than his stunning 25-yard volley against Tottenham in 2006.

Perhaps the most remarkable part of his story was his lifestyle. Tugay reportedly smoked around 20 cigarettes a day, even enjoying one at halftime, yet continued performing at a high level well into his late 30s.

Sir Alex Ferguson once suggested that a Tugay 10 years younger would have been playing for Manchester United. Blackburn manager Mark Hughes went even further, joking that a younger Tugay would have been wearing a Barcelona shirt.

Hughes also ranked him among the three best players he had ever managed, affectionately describing him as a real character who always enjoyed a halftime cigarette.

“Best I’ve managed, best I’ve played against.” — Mark Hughes

Tugay was football’s beautiful contradiction: an old-school character with the technical quality of a modern midfield maestro.

9. Morten Gamst Pedersen (Blackburn Rovers, 2004–2013)

If there was one Premier League midfielder who could make a corner kick feel like a genuine scoring opportunity, it was Morten Gamst Pedersen.

Blackburn signed the Norwegian from Tromsø for approximately £1.5 million in 2004, initially viewing him as a replacement for Damien Duff. He eventually became something entirely different: one of the most entertaining dead-ball specialists of his generation.

Pedersen made more than 260 Premier League appearances for Blackburn, scoring 34 goals. His 2005/06 campaign was particularly memorable, producing nine league goals and 10 in all competitions.

Two moments from that season deserve permanent residence in Premier League nostalgia. First, his match-winning brace against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Then there was his outrageous volley against Fulham, striking the crossbar before finding the back of the net.

But his real calling card was his ability to turn seemingly harmless set pieces into dangerous situations. Pedersen was obsessed with curling attempts directly into the goal from corners, reportedly practicing what he called “Olympic” goals.

His approach to dead balls was so distinctive that contemporary descriptions regularly labeled him a specialist in the spectacular. Later analysis highlighted his attention to goalkeeper positioning and the tactical details involved in isolating opposition goalkeepers.

Pedersen eventually left Blackburn in 2013, but the affection remained.

“Leaving Blackburn was one of the saddest days of my football career.” — Morten Gamst Pedersen

He might not have collected the biggest trophies, but Blackburn supporters had nine years of spectacular moments to remember.

8. Stéphane Sessègnon (Sunderland, 2011–2013)

Some footballers make their teammates better through intelligent positioning and intricate passing combinations. Others simply receive the ball, turn toward the opposition goal and make something happen.

Stéphane Sessègnon belonged firmly in the second category.

The Beninese international was one of the most entertaining attacking midfielders in the Premier League during his Sunderland spell. Across 87 league appearances, he scored 17 goals and provided 15 assists, becoming an essential component of the club’s attacking identity.

His importance was especially evident during the 2011/12 campaign. Under Martin O’Neill, Sessègnon became the creative centerpiece of a Sunderland side that enjoyed an impressive mid-season surge. He started all 28 matches during that run, finished as the club’s joint-top scorer and earned Sunderland’s Player of the Season award.

Operating as a roaming No. 10 or second striker, Sessègnon was incredibly difficult to defend against. His low center of gravity, close control and ability to accelerate through tight spaces made him particularly dangerous in transition.

Sunderland weren’t always the most technically gifted team in the league, but they had someone capable of turning a defensive recovery into a dangerous counterattack almost single-handedly.

O’Neill understood exactly what he brought to the team.

“He gives us that little spark. He is unpredictable, he’s always capable of doing something.” — Martin O’Neill

The manager also praised his ability to take on defenders, open up gaps and produce an end product.

Sessègnon wasn’t always consistent, but that unpredictability was precisely what made him so entertaining. At his best, he was a nightmare for Premier League defenders.

7. Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle United, 2011–2014)

Newcastle United’s 2011/12 season remains one of the most enjoyable underdog stories in modern Premier League history. Alan Pardew’s team finished fifth, qualified for European competition and produced a collection of performances that nobody outside Tyneside could have reasonably expected.

At the center of that achievement was Yohan Cabaye.

Signed from Lille for approximately £4.3 million, the French midfielder quickly established himself as one of the Premier League’s most complete central midfielders. He combined technical elegance with defensive aggression, forming a particularly effective partnership with Cheick Tioté.

Cabaye wasn’t simply a creative midfielder who wanted to dictate possession. He could tackle, press, win second balls and arrive in dangerous attacking positions. His ability to contribute both defensively and offensively made him indispensable.

His numbers were impressive, too. Across 79 Premier League appearances for Newcastle, he recorded 17 goals and 14 assists.

One of his defining moments came against Manchester United in January 2012, when he curled an extraordinary 25-yard free kick into the net during Newcastle’s memorable 3-0 victory.

By 2013, his performances had attracted Arsenal’s attention. Their reported £10 million deadline-day bid created a major headache for Pardew, who was understandably unhappy about losing his midfield centerpiece during the season.

Pardew described Cabaye as Newcastle’s heartbeat, later lamenting how the bid disrupted his preparations.

“You prepare for three days with a player of that talent and that was taken away from us.” — Alan Pardew

Cabaye eventually joined Paris Saint-Germain for approximately £20 million. Newcastle supporters had already seen enough to understand what they had possessed.

6. Tomáš Rosický (Arsenal, 2006–2016)

There are few Premier League midfielders whose careers inspire quite as much appreciation for what might have been as Tomáš Rosický.

Affectionately known as “The Little Mozart,” the Czech international possessed the kind of technical quality that made football look effortless. He could accelerate through midfield, play outrageous passes with the outside of his boot and combine intricate dribbling with relentless pressing.

Arsène Wenger signed Rosický in 2006, and he quickly became an important part of Arsenal’s attacking identity. Unfortunately, injuries repeatedly interrupted his progress. He made just 170 Premier League appearances across 10 years, scoring 19 goals and providing 16 assists. An especially devastating injury spell kept him out for approximately 18 months between 2008 and 2009.

Yet whenever Rosický was fit, Arsenal had a different dimension to their midfield.

His ability to move possession quickly, attack spaces and create unexpected passing angles made him particularly valuable in Wenger’s system. He was also capable of producing spectacular moments, none more memorable than his incredible 72nd-second half-volley against Tottenham at White Hart Lane in March 2014.

It was the sort of goal that perfectly captured his personality as a footballer: instinctive, technically brilliant and wonderfully audacious.

Rosický was also known for his love of heavy metal music, an amusing contrast to the delicate football that earned him his nickname.

Wenger never needed convincing about his quality.

“If you love football, you love Tomáš Rosický.” — Arsène Wenger

When Rosický departed, Wenger called him the perfect Arsenal player, praising how effortlessly he made the game look.

Injuries robbed us of seeing more of him. They never robbed us of appreciating what he could do.

5. Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace, 2012–2016)

There are wingers who beat defenders through pace, others who rely on intricate footwork, and then there was Yannick Bolasie.

The Crystal Palace cult hero was one of the Premier League’s most unpredictable entertainers during the middle of the 2010s. You could spend an entire afternoon trying to work out what he was going to do next and still have absolutely no idea.

Bolasie’s journey made his Premier League success even more remarkable. He came through non-league football with Hillingdon Borough and Rushden & Diamonds before eventually establishing himself at Selhurst Park.

Across 90 Premier League appearances for Palace, he scored nine goals and provided 16 assists. His dribbling numbers regularly placed him among the league’s most effective ball carriers, but statistics never really captured the full experience of watching him.

The famous “Bolasie flick” became a signature move, with the winger regularly humiliating defenders using outrageous touches and unpredictable changes of direction.

His defining afternoon arrived in April 2015. Facing Sunderland away from home, Bolasie became the first Crystal Palace player to score a Premier League hat-trick, finding the net three times in just 11 minutes.

It was a remarkable performance that elevated his reputation almost overnight.

Alan Pardew was so impressed that he publicly suggested Palace would demand between £40 million and £60 million to sell him. Bolasie took the attention in his stride.

“The boys are bantering me [about the £40m price tag] but I look at it as I need to work harder.” — Yannick Bolasie

He wasn’t a conventional winger, and that was precisely the point. Bolasie made football unpredictable, entertaining and occasionally ridiculous in the best possible way.

4. Joe Cole (Chelsea, 2003–2010)

Before Chelsea became synonymous with relentless tactical discipline and expensive superstar signings, Joe Cole offered something slightly different.

The former West Ham academy graduate brought an unmistakable street-football mentality to Stamford Bridge. He could dribble through tight spaces, embarrass defenders with a clever touch and produce moments of individual brilliance that seemed completely disconnected from the structured football around him.

José Mourinho quickly recognized his talent after arriving at Chelsea in 2004, although getting the best out of Cole required a little persuasion.

Across 183 Premier League appearances for Chelsea, Cole scored 28 goals and provided 25 assists, winning three league titles. His finest campaign statistically came in 2005/06, when he registered eight goals and eight assists.

Perhaps his most iconic contribution came during Chelsea’s title-clinching victory over Manchester United in April 2006. Cole produced a wonderful piece of individual skill, chipping the ball past Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić before firing into the bottom corner.

It was a goal that showcased everything supporters loved about him.

Mourinho, however, wasn’t always impressed with Cole’s approach to the defensive side of the game. Following his winning goal against Liverpool in October 2004, the Portuguese manager offered a particularly revealing assessment.

“His game had two faces. A beautiful one and one that I didn’t like.” — José Mourinho

Mourinho praised Cole’s spirit and ability to create attacking opportunities, but criticized his performance after scoring.

That tension perfectly captured Cole’s footballing identity. He was a creative maverick operating inside one of the most disciplined teams in Premier League history.

And when he was allowed to express himself, there were few more entertaining players to watch.

3. Mousa Dembélé (Fulham & Tottenham Hotspur, 2010–2019)

Mousa Dembélé might be the greatest example of a footballer whose true quality was almost impossible to appreciate through traditional statistics.

The Belgian midfielder made 243 Premier League appearances between Fulham and Tottenham, recording 12 goals and 12 assists. Those numbers are remarkably modest for someone who was widely regarded as one of the most technically gifted central midfielders of his generation.

His real talent was making opposition players look completely helpless.

Dembélé initially developed as an attacking player, but his evolution into a central midfielder transformed his career. At Tottenham, Mauricio Pochettino discovered a player capable of controlling games through an extraordinary combination of strength, balance, close control and press resistance.

Across his Spurs career, Dembélé completed more than 90 percent of his passes and recorded an astonishing take-on success rate of approximately 87 percent. Among high-volume midfield dribblers in the modern Premier League tracking era, that figure was extraordinary.

The remarkable thing was how effortlessly he achieved it. Dembélé didn’t need elaborate tricks or unnecessary movement. A subtle drop of the shoulder was often enough to eliminate two opponents and create space for his teammates.

Pochettino was so enamored with his midfielder that he once joked Tottenham effectively didn’t exist without him.

The Argentine even grouped Dembélé alongside footballing geniuses such as Diego Maradona, Ronaldinho, Jay-Jay Okocha and Iván de la Peña.

“If we had taken you at 18 or 19 years old, you would have become one of the best players in the world.” — Mauricio Pochettino

It was an extraordinary compliment, but hardly an undeserved one.

Dembélé rarely dominated headlines, scored spectacular goals or collected individual awards. Instead, he dominated the most difficult part of football: keeping possession when everyone around him wanted to take it away.

2. Adel Taarabt (Queens Park Rangers, 2011–2015)

If football nostalgia had a poster boy, Adel Taarabt would have a strong argument for being on the front cover.

The Moroccan playmaker was one of the most entertaining footballers to watch during his time at Queens Park Rangers. His game was built around playground creativity, outrageous confidence and the belief that absolutely any defender could be embarrassed with the right combination of touches.

Taarabt arrived in the Premier League after producing one of the greatest individual seasons in Championship history. His 2010/11 campaign yielded 19 goals and 16 assists, helping QPR secure promotion while establishing himself as one of English football’s most exciting talents.

His Premier League numbers were more modest, registering seven goals and seven assists in 49 appearances. His best top-flight campaign came in 2012/13, when he scored five goals and provided five assists in 31 matches.

But nobody remembers Taarabt primarily for his statistics.

One of his most memorable performances came against Fulham, when he nutmegged Brede Hangeland before curling an outrageous 25-yard effort into the net. It was vintage Taarabt: audacious, technically brilliant and completely unapologetic.

Unfortunately, his relationship with manager Harry Redknapp eventually deteriorated spectacularly.

In October 2014, Redknapp publicly accused him of being “three stone overweight” and described him as the worst professional he had ever encountered.

Taarabt responded by questioning Redknapp’s own work ethic in an interview with the Daily Mail.

“It’s not about just running around, you need to play with your brain.” — Adel Taarabt

It was a messy ending to an undeniably entertaining Premier League story.

Taarabt never fulfilled his extraordinary potential in England’s top flight, but that almost makes his inclusion more appropriate. He was never ordinary, never predictable and certainly never boring.

1. Dimitri Payet (West Ham United, 2015–2017)

There might never be a more appropriate winner of this list than Dimitri Payet.

The Frenchman spent just two Premier League seasons at West Ham United, but his brief time in England produced some of the most extraordinary individual performances of the 2010s.

Signed from Marseille for approximately £10.75 million in the summer of 2015, Payet arrived at a club preparing to leave Upton Park. What followed was a debut campaign that transformed West Ham’s farewell season into something genuinely unforgettable.

In 30 Premier League appearances during 2015/16, Payet scored nine goals and provided 12 assists. He created 119 chances, ranking second in the division behind Mesut Özil, while also scoring four direct free kicks across all competitions.

And those free kicks were something else entirely.

His strikes against Crystal Palace and Blackburn Rovers demonstrated an almost ridiculous ability to manipulate the trajectory of a football. Payet could make the ball dip, swerve and move in ways that seemed to defy conventional physics.

But he wasn’t simply a set-piece specialist. His close control, passing range and ability to create chances from seemingly impossible situations made him one of the Premier League’s most dangerous attacking midfielders.

West Ham’s dependence on him was reflected in the numbers. Sky Sports’ mid-season tracking showed the club winning 53.8 percent of its matches when Payet started, compared with 25 percent without him.

Manager Slaven Bilić struggled to find the words to describe his importance.

“On the ball, he is there with Luka Modrić from the players I have trained so far.” — Slaven Bilić

Bilić even joked that he would need poetry lessons to properly describe Payet’s influence.

His performance against Blackburn in the FA Cup prompted similar admiration, with Daily Mirror journalist David Anderson writing:

“These bare facts do not come close to doing justice to his virtuoso performance.”

Unfortunately, the fairytale didn’t last. Payet forced a controversial return to Marseille in January 2017, leaving West Ham supporters furious after such a spectacular introduction to English football.

But the magic was already secured.

For one extraordinary season, Dimitri Payet made the Premier League feel like his personal highlight reel. He was unpredictable, technically outrageous and capable of producing something special every time he touched the ball.

That’s exactly what a Streets Won’t Forget footballer should be.

Honorable mentions

The Premier League has produced far too many cult midfielders to fit into just 10 places. A few more names deserve recognition:

• Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle United): One of the most naturally gifted dribblers ever to play in England.

• Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur): A technically brilliant playmaker who brought genuine star quality to Spurs.

• Steed Malbranque (Fulham, Sunderland and Tottenham): An underrated technician who always seemed to find a way to influence games.

• Charles N’Zogbia (Wigan Athletic and Newcastle United): A wonderfully unpredictable winger capable of producing spectacular individual moments.

• Juninho Paulista (Middlesbrough): A Brazilian magician whose technical quality made him a fan favorite.

• Luis García (Liverpool): A creative midfielder whose flair and knack for spectacular goals made him a cult hero at Anfield.

The final word: Not every great footballer needs a Ballon d’Or, a Premier League title or a collection of Champions League medals to become unforgettable. Sometimes, all it takes is a ridiculous free kick, an outrageous piece of skill or a midfielder who makes an entire stadium wonder what on earth they just witnessed.

That’s the beauty of the Premier League’s cult heroes.