The stat that suggests Bruno Guimaraes is the Premier League's most influential player

Is Bruno Guimaraes the most influential player in the Premier League ? The statistics certainly build an argument in favour of that assessment.

Eddie Howe bemoaned the absence of the Newcastle United captain this week, as his side lost to Aston Villa at St James' Park.

Guimaraes missed the clash after picking up an ankle injury against PSV Eindhoven in midweek and could only watch from the stands as the Magpies suffered a setback in their pursuit of Champions League qualification.

"Going back to Bruno [Guimaraes], I think we missed his ability to pass forward today," Howe reflected to Sky Sports.

"There was certainly an element of our game that got hurt by him not being here.

"He is possibly the focal point for a lot of our build play. We maybe suffered from not having him but we have to be able to play without him as well and hope we don't have to do that for too long."

Opta have now revealed just how badly Newcastle have missed the Brazilian in his absence. Since Guimaraes arrived at St James' Park from Lyon in February 2022, Newcastle have failed to win a single league fixture the midfielder has missed.

Their nine fixtures without Guimaraes in that time have yielded five draws and four losses. Howe will be hoping his recent ankle issue is not a long-term problem. Newcastle's hopes of a successful season might just hinge on it.