Big players win you games. It is why they demand such a high price and wages. And it is why clubs are so happy to pay it. It is also why they are often attackers, but goals are the hardest thing to do in this game and they, predictably, win games.
However, said big players must be on the pitch if they are to win any game. That is kind of the point of the sport. It is a lesson that even some of the most experienced players in this sport are yet to learn.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, for instance, as displayed wonderfully by his idiotic behaviour on Monday, at 36 years of age, still hasn’t learned that his presence on the pitch, above all, is the most important aspect of his game.