There is only one number ten at Chelsea - Juan Mata!

So much has been made of Chelsea's summer signings, so much has been made of the difference to Chelsea's attacking options now compared to recent seasons but for me one person still stands out as head and shoulders above the rest, Juan Mata.

I guess looking from the outside in at Chelsea now, all you see is the amount of "number tens" we have at the club in the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata and I can see why people are thinking that way. 

I know Oscar has made an instant impact at Chelsea and will be pushing Mata all the way now for that position but Chelsea simply cannot do without the genius of Mata if we are to make a real challenge in all competitions this season. 

Mata brings everything to the table for Chelsea. His influence on games is immense and he is often found at the heart of all of Chelsea'a attacking moves. His ability to open up the door with a pass or flick got us out of jail against Stoke at the weekend when it looked like we would struggle to break them down and it's his close control of the ball at his feet and quick thinking that puts him above and beyond anyone else in my view. 

Here is a look at Juan Mata's influence on three Premier League games this season with the ball at his feet.

Wigan Away:

As you can see Mata had an influence all over the midfield. He made 50 out of 54 passes during the game and you will see as per the arrows above, a different range of passing.

Reading at home:

Mata was much more involved in this game and again all over the midfield. This time he completed 72 out of 82 passes.

Stoke at home last weekend:

Now bearing in mind, Oscar had not been involved in the games against Wigan and Reading as he had been in this one against Stoke, Mata's influence again was immense. 56 out of 64 passes including the flick to assist Ashley Cole in this one, Mata was at the heart of Chelsea's attacking moves.

Now let's have a look at Eden Hazard. At QPR away, Juan Mata and Oscar never played. Ramires and Ryan Bertrand started off either side of Hazard who played through the middle.

I know it's only one game but look at the difference. Hazard completed 30 out of 36 passes almost half of the influence of Mata. I never knew just how much more effective Mata is in that position compared to Hazard.

Let's now have a look at Oscar who started against Stoke:

As you can see Oscar's passing stats are good. 48 out of 54 passes during the game shows he had a real influence on this game but in different areas. It shows his movement across the pitch from midfield into attacking areas.

By looking at the above you can see that Juan Mata has been much more heavily involved in all areas of the midfield and into the attacking third during Chelsea's build up play. He is the man people look to give the ball to and to create openings.

It's early stages of the season but to me these screen shots just to go prove that although people are questioning what our best eleven is and stating that we have too many number tens in our side, Juan Mata is head and shoulders above the rest.

Juan Mata has made the number ten shirt his own and IS key to any success Chelsea have this season. He is a genius!.

KTBFFH.