EA SPORTS™ FIFA 14, the latest installment in the top-selling video game series, hits the shelves worldwide today. The award winning franchise is now in its 21st year and whilst a host of new game play features have sent excitement levels soaring amongst gamers, it's the latest update of the player ratings that will set tongues wagging within the football fraternity.

The player ratings are a source of hot debate amongst gamers and professional footballers with the likes of Rio Ferdinand taking to twitter in the past to voice his displeasure at diminishing pace stats. So, to fuel the discussion, EA SPORTS has exclusively revealed the best players in the new game based on a variety of attributes listed in FIFA Ultimate Team.

With FIFA 14 offering improved “pure shot” technology, scoring goals will feel more rewarding than ever before. For gamers looking to take advantage of this, Manchester United have three of the Premier League’s top five finishers. New Spurs signing Roberto Soldado jumps straight into third place among the Premier League’s strikers, while Sergio Aguero represents the blue half of Manchester in second place:

Best finishers in the Premier League:

1         Manchester United         van Persie, Robin

2         Manchester City             Agüero, Sergio

3         Tottenham Hotspur        Soldado Rillo, Roberto

4         Manchester United        Hernández, Javier

5         Manchester United        Rooney, Wayne

Gamers will benefit from new sprint dribble turns in the game this year, with players able to utilise quick, explosive cuts and turns to beat defenders one-on-one with the ball. That makes speed an even more powerful weapon in the game. Arsenal are the only team to have two players in the Premier League’s top five fastest players, with Ryo Miyaichi a hidden gem of pace. Meanwhile, Serie A contributes two players to the list of the world’s fastest, and Mathis Bolly of the Bundesliga’s second tier is the only player not playing in their country’s top division to make the top 5 globally in any of the criteria released by EA SPORTS.

Fastest players in the Premier League:

1         Arsenal                             Walcott, Theo

2         Arsenal                            Miyaichi, Ryo

3         Newcastle United           Rémy, Loïc

4         Tottenham Hotspur        Walker, Kyle

5         Aston Villa                       Agbonlahor, Gabriel

Fastest players in the world:

1         Parma                                Biabiany, Jonathan

2         Fortuna Düsseldorf         Bolly, Mathis

3         Arsenal                             Walcott, Theo

4         Borussia Dortmund         Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick

5         Cagliari                             Ibarbo, Víctor

Top 5 passers in the world:

1         FC Barcelona                    Hernández Creus, Xavier

2         FC Barcelona                   Iniesta Luján, Andrés

3         FC Barcelona                   Fàbregas i Soler, Francesc

4         Juventus                           Pirlo, Andrea

5         Real Madrid                      Modrić, Luka

Top 5 dribblers in the world:

1         FC Barcelona                    Messi, Lionel

2         Bayern München             Ribéry, Franck

3         Bayern München             Robben, Arjen

4         FC Barcelona                   da Silva Santos Júnior, Neymar

5         FC Barcelona                   Iniesta Luján, Andrés

At the other end of the virtual pitch, defending has been transformed in FIFA 14 with second chance tackles giving defenders the chance to recover from missed tackles. Rio Ferdinand may have questioned EA SPORTS on his stats previously, but he can’t have any complaints as he remains in the Premier League’s top 5 defenders. Ferdinand is ranked fifth, with his team mate Nemanja Vidic the Premier League’s top defender.

Top 5 defenders in the Premier League:

1         Manchester United        Vidić, Nemanja

2         Manchester City            Kompany, Vincent

3         Chelsea                          Cole, Ashley

4         Everton                           Baines, Leighton

5         Manchester United        Ferdinand, Rio

When looking for the best headers of the ball in FIFA 14, the Swiss Super League may not be your first port of call. However, FC Sion’s Vilmos Vanczak has the best heading stats in the game, making him an astute target for FIFA Ultimate Team managers looking for a bargain centre back. Closer to home, the Premier League is home to two of the top 5 headers of the ball in the game, with Arsenal’s Per Mertesacker ranked second, above Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic in fourth.

Top 5 headers in the world:

1         FC Sion                           Vanczák, Vilmos

2         Arsenal                           Mertesacker, Per

3         Bayern München           van Buyten, Daniel

4         Manchester United        Vidić, Nemanja

5         Borussia Dortmund        Hummels, Mats

With even more new skill moves, and performing them simplified to using the right stick, EA SPORTS FIFA 14 is all about using your skills to beat defenders. FIFA Ultimate Team players often look for five star skill move players in unusual places, and there are just four to be found in the Premier League. While Nani at Manchester United may not surprise many, and Newcastle’s Hatem Ben Arfa and Adel Taraabt are also known for their skills, Stoke’s on-loan Morrocan winger Oussama Assaidi is an unknown quantity to many and the fourth player in the Premier League to be rated five stars for skill moves.

1         Manchester United        Nani

2        Newcastle United         Hatem Ben Arfa

3         Fulham                           Adel Taraabt

4         Stoke City                      Oussama Assaidi

FIFA 14 by EA Sports is available now.