Ranking average age of Premier League starting XIs

Mikel Arteta’s ageism earns Arsenal top spot as we rank the average age of Premier League XIs this season from oldest to youngest…

19) Burnley (28.7)

The good news is Burnley will likely have a younger starting XI next season. The bad news is that’s because about half of that starting XI – most of them old stagers – are out of contract and free to leave for nothing.

18) Watford (27.8)

38-year-old Ben Foster playing half the games hasn’t helped, in terms of both their average age and in stopping goals being scored against them. His save percentage of 61.4% is the worst in the Premier League. The alternative, Daniel Bachmann, has the second worst (62.3%).

17) West Ham (27.9)

Another aged goalkeeper doing a lot of the heavy lifting. 36-year-old Lucasz Fabianski has managed to keep 28-year-old whippersnapper Alphonse Areola at bay.

16) Liverpool (27.6)

Only three of Liverpool’s most-used XI – Trent Alexander-Arnold (23), Diogo Jota (25) and Andrew Robertson (27) – are under 28 years old. But given none of them are older than 31 and are playing consistently brilliant football, this remains a team in its prime rather than one on the brink of disbandment.

15) Newcastle (27.4)

The January signings are yet to work in Newcastle’s favour in the age stakes. But that could soon change when 24-year-old Bruno Guimaraes gets himself in the team, especially with Kieran Trippier (32) set for an extended spell on the sidelines.

14) Wolves (27.3)

No team has a greater discrepancy between the age of squad (25.7) and starting XI (27.3). That’s almost entirely down to £35m 19-year-old Fabio Silva starting just one Premier League game this season.

13) Crystal Palace (27.2)

The greatest average age last season, seven thirty-somethings