Looking at this thread, I can only say that some people should actually watch football instead of racking up assist and goal stats which mean nothing.
One has to actually see how Silva's elegance and vista completely redefines our game, the speed at which it is played, the one-touch football, the options that are taken by every player when they have the ball because they know silva's in the team and how that diversification of play confuses the opposition.
At the end of the day, half of the time, an assist is just a ball given to striker who does most of the job. Sometimes, the through ball is the penultimate pass, which is followed by a simple lateral pass, and the later one is considered assist. How does that make sense?
Dani Alves has 50+ assists, most of the time Iniesta/Xavi giving him a through ball and him passing it to messi thanks to the spaces opened by that pass. And then you have Messi fanboys claiming Alves has more assists for Messi than Iniesta, hence Messi is not dependant on Iniesta. It also is the same stats fanatics who claim that Ronaldo would deserve the Ballon d'or ahead of Iniesta because he has more goals and assists.
To me, Silva is the best midfielder in the Premier League and, in his own style, he is among the most creative to ever have played in it. It is laughable argument to say Gio was better than him because he was a better dribbler and striker. I, for one, don't like comparing players that are so much different but, if you have to, then the argument can't just be about stats and some fancy actions.
