It’s sometimes said that Paul Scholes was born in the wrong country.
We sort of get the point. After all, the legendary midfielder went a little under the radar in England during his playing days, but was held in high regard by plenty of his competitors abroad, such as Zinedine Zidane, Andrea Pirlo and Xavi.
In fact, at La Masia – Barcelona’s famous youth academy – Scholes is said to be mentioned “quite a lot”, according to Lionel Messi.
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But sadly, it seems many of us only grasped the sheer scale of his brilliance after he retired in 2013. That was certainly the case for Sven-Goran Eriksson, who infamously shifted him onto England’s left-side during Euro 2004 to accommodate Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard.
Deary me.
Reuters Under-appreciated, indeed[/caption]
So let’s learn from this great mistake and start opening our eyes to some of our current Premier League favourites who perhaps don’t get the appreciation they deserve.
Starting with this lot.
Cesc Fabregas
Getty Images - Getty Stalwart[/caption]
From making his Premier League debut with Arsenal as a 16-year-old through to winning the title with Chelsea under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, Cesc has been a staple of English football for over 15-years (if we forget about his fleeting fancy with Barcelona, that is).
But in recent years, we’ve basically stopped thinking about the handsome Spaniard.
True, he was perhaps the biggest midfielder in the world back in 2010, after assisting Andres Iniesta’s World Cup winning goal and sealing a move to Barca a year later. And of course, he returned to the limelight for a bit in 2015 when he became an integral member of Mourinho’s title-winning side.
But if truth be told, Fabregas is rarely sounded out above his peers for his wonderful technique, vision and passing ability.
And we can see it now; when he does retire, we’ll probably all be talking about how much Arsenal fans hate him, rather than how consistently brilliant he’s been.
Sergio Aguero
Getty - Contributor Came, saw, conquered[/caption]
We don’t know about you, but just reading the name ‘Sergio Aguero’ makes us instantly turn into Martin Tyler.
The Man City striker will forever be associated with that famous last-minute goal against QPR during the climax of the 2011-12 season, but it seems he’s only recently started to enjoy proper admiration from folks outside of City’s fanbase.
"The best foreign player to play in the #PL"@alanshearer had high praise for Aguero, who features in his Team of The Week 
Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/iM2Y9tJ8bJ
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 21, 2018
Just a couple of weeks ago, Alan Shearer heaped praise on him during Match of the Day, saying: “He is the best foreign player to ever play in the Premier League – a great centre-forward with no weaknesses.”
We absolutely agree, but we can’t help but feel a little under-awed by the fact that Aguero has never been named in the PFA Team of the Year, despite being a prolific goal-scorer since his move from Atletico Madrid in 2011.
So, why?
Well, we reckon his plethora of injuries and the brilliance of other strikers in recent years (from Robin Van Persie through to Harry Kane) means he’s always been ever-so-slightly overshadowed.
Gary Cahill
PA:Press Association Captain, leader… legend?[/caption]
Did you know that Cahill has won everything with Chelsea?
There’s the Champions League, Europa League, League Cup, two Premier Leagues and even the FA Cup a few months ago.
In fact, he’s been one of the club’s most consistent and loyal servants in recent years.
He’s even been a big part of England’s back-line over the last decade, making his debut for the Three Lions in 2010 and earning 61 caps, before more-or-less calling time on his international career last week.
Not a bad way to sign off from this man either …
A bullet header from @GaryJCahill on his last appearance at Wembley for @England 
pic.twitter.com/en3eqev4hq
— Wembley Stadium (@wembleystadium) August 28, 2018
Still, we can’t help but feel that the reliable centre-back won’t be held up in the same way Chelsea fans feel about John Terry, Frank Lampard or Didier Drogba, and won’t be discussed in the same vein as Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell or even Ledley King when it comes to great English centre-backs of recent years.
Which is shame, because Cahill has been really good since his days at Bolton, and has never caused the Blues any off-field problems (ahem).
Aaron Ramsey
Getty - Contributor Wizard[/caption]
Now, here’s a player who often divides opinion, even among fans of his own club.
But by and large, we reckon Arsenal play their best football with Ramsey in the team.
After all, he’s everything you want from a modern attacking midfield, isn’t he?
Direct, relentless and constantly running. So why isn’t he known as ‘Arsenal’s answer to Steven Gerrard’?
Brilliant start to the League of Nations for us and a special goal for me personally #twinsontheway 
pic.twitter.com/y05Vse3tdW
— Aaron Ramsey (@aaronramsey) September 6, 2018
To be fair, most of us probably think Ramsey’s injured right now.
He’s not, by the way. In fact, he’s leading the club in chances created so far this season and is seemingly adapting well to Unai Emery’s system.
Even Neil Warnock has been talking up the Welsh midfielder in recent weeks, saying: “Every time I watch Wales, every time I watch Arsenal, I just think he does everything. He is a complete player.”
No doubt we’ll all be saying the same thing in 10 years or so, but currently? He goes a little unnoticed for weeks and months a time.
James Milner
Getty Images - Getty Don’t call him boring[/caption]
We’ve all been so busy calling Milner boring, did we stop to think just how consistently great he’s been over the years?
Sure, he doesn’t have the same effortless technical ability of David Silva or the creative excellence of Christian Eriksen or Kevin De Bruyne.
We’ve put that down to the fact that he’s very plainly English, likes to keep his head down, works hard and doesn’t cause any drama on or off the pitch.
But for years he’s been playing at the very top level, racking up honours and individual accolades and records that range from two Premier League winners medals all the way through to the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2010.
He was even the Premier League’s youngest-ever goalscorer at one time, netting for Leeds at the age of 16 to surpass Wayne Rooney’s record.
Ever the first-team regular wherever he’s played, he’s reached 25-appearances or more in a top-flight season 15 times, which includes his role as one of Aston Villa’s main attacking outlets between 2007 and 2010, and as a constant presence in Man City’s title-winning sides of 2011–12 and 2013–14.
He’s been ever-present in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side – he’s even their vice-captain – and we hope he’s remembered fondly in years to come.
Leighton Baines
Getty - Contributor The Last of the Shadow Puppets[/caption]
Everyone’s favourite footballer-who-looks-like-an-indie-band-guitarist will be turning 34 in November, which means he’s slowly but surely reaching the end of is playing days.
And while the Everton left-back has been a regular in your fantasy football team over the years, he’s also been fairly consistently one of the best full-backs we’ve had in the top-flight.
His place as the current record holder for most assists as a defender in the Premier League backs that up that, we think.
| Leighton Baines + @1TomDavies…
Third kit 
https://t.co/vBPcwxW6xn
More from the photo shoot coming up later in Everton Unseen #18 https://t.co/Lm0rVBe5Ds pic.twitter.com/XfoBtpoSd0
— Everton (@Everton) August 24, 2018
But much like Ian Harte during his time at Leeds – another great marauding left-back who was great set-pieces – we hope Bainesy doesn’t fall into footballing obscurity once he retires.
Because if it wasn’t for a certain Ashley Cole, then we reckon we would’ve seen a lot more of him on the international stage.
Olivier Giroud
Getty - Contributor Sacre bleu![/caption]
At the time of writing, Giroud has played over 15 hours of football in all competitions without scoring a goal.
That includes France’s World Cup-winning campaign.
But we don’t love Giroud for his goals – although, occasionally, they’re absolutely stunning – but for unstoppable work-rate and link-up play.
Just ask Arsenal fans, who still absolutely love the Frenchman when he left for Chelsea in January and talk him up as one of their favourite players of recent years.
Unfortunately, it seems the rest of us associate the handsome striker as a product of Arsene Wenger’s declining ability at Arsenal.
Still, let’s hope he’s remembered fondly in years to come.
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