Everton star James Rodriguez is not the creative powerhouse that everyone believes him to be, according to former Colombian footballer Jairo Arboleda.
Rodriguez has been a massive hit at Goodison Park since arriving on a free transfer from Real Madrid in the summer, quickly establishing himself as the star of the show under Carlo Ancelotti.
The Colombian is very much the creative spark of this Everton team, having racked up seven assists in 15 games for the Toffees so far.
That is very much the job he was brought in to do, with the Blues having struggled without a creative midfielder of his ilk for some time.
As well as leading the creative charts for Everton, Rodriguez has also impressed across the Premier League, with him currently leading the way when it comes to goal creating actions per 90 minutes.
It seems, though, that numbers such as those, as well as 42 assists in 125 games for Real Madrid, 41 in 108 for Porto and 20 in 67 for Bayern Munich haven’t convinced Arboleda.
“In Colombia everyone talks that James is the best creative in the country today, but I think James is not as creative as they paint him,” he told El VBar de Caracol, relayed by Marca.
“James is a person who plays football very well, but if you analyse, he is a person who throws the ball, tries to position himself to put in that 40-meter change of front that he does perfectly.
“But for James to face, dribble one or two, it’s difficult. I’m not saying he’s a bad player, I’m just saying that he’s not the most creative.”
