Arsenal’s Spanish midfielder Cesc Fàbregas will have a golden opportunity to boost his FTBL rating when his side take on Everton in their Premier League season opener: with a tally of 119.44 points at the moment, he will face a plank of just 4.50 rating points to advance in our ranking of midfielders in the Premier League, where competition is fierce.

It is far from a given that the Spain international will spend this season at Arsenal, with various reports indicating La Liga giants Barcelona are more and more insistent in their pursuit of the playmaker.

If Fàbregas scores against Everton, he will likely join the group of three top midfielders of the Premier League. Out of reach of the Spaniard will remain (for now) only Chelsea’s Frank Lampard (214.19 points) and Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard (181.04 points). The gap between Fàbregas and Yossi Benayoun, another Liverpool midfielder in 3rd place in the ranking, amounts to just a little over 10 rating points.