Scouting Players Research
Set-Piece Weapons: The Centre-Backs Who Win Most in the Air
Published 2026-10-09 · updated 2026-10-17 · data: Sportmonks, season 2026/2027
Set-piece teams like Arsenal build around centre-backs who attack the ball - Gabriel, Saliba, Hincapié, Mosquera. These are the centre-backs in Europe's top five leagues who win the most aerial duels per 90 minutes this season - with their Moneyball Score, because winning headers is not all a centre-back does.
Most aerial duels won per 90
| # | Player | Age | Aerials won / 90 | Score | Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikola Katic Schalke 04 · GER | 30 | 6.57 | 65 | 194 cm |
| 2 | Robin Koch Eintracht Frankfurt · GER | 30 | 5.81 | 77 | 192 cm |
| 3 | Jeff Chabot VfB Stuttgart · GER | 28 | 5.34 | 75 | 195 cm |
| 4 | Dan Ballard Sunderland · ENG | 27 | 5.20 | 60 | 187 cm |
| 5 | Amir Rrahmani Napoli · ITA | 32 | 5.00 | 64 | 192 cm |
| 6 | Matthias Ginter SC Freiburg · GER | 32 | 4.60 | 58 | 191 cm |
| 7 | Sven Botman Newcastle United · ENG | 26 | 4.50 | 74 | 193 cm |
| 8 | Lukas Pinckert Elversberg · GER | 26 | 4.33 | 62 | 185 cm |
| 9 | Raphaël Le Guen Brest · FRA | 20 | 4.20 | 65 | 198 cm |
| 10 | James Tarkowski Everton · ENG | 33 | 4.14 | 69 | 185 cm |
| 11 | Kike Salas Sevilla · ESP | 24 | 3.85 | 64 | 188 cm |
| 12 | Kristoffer Ajer Brentford · ENG | 28 | 3.83 | 52 | 198 cm |
Recruit for how you play
Club Mode reads a club's style - in the air and at set pieces, wing-backs, possession - and ranks centre-backs and every other position for it.
How the figures are made: Sportmonks' season statistics for every player in Europe's top five leagues, per 90 minutes and adjusted for league strength, regressed toward the average of the position while minutes are few, and ranked against players in the same position. The Moneyball Score weighs what each position asks for. Early in a season every figure moves; it is an estimate, not a verdict.
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