The thing with Kagawa is that he's different from typical attacking midfielders. He's not one to always try risky and dangerous passes. His game is more about his movement and positioning, incisive runs beyond the defences, linking up with teammates, moving the ball around quickly, playing short, quick passes (i.e. give-and-goes, flicks, etc.), and always being available for a pass. In this case, he's more of a second striker than an attacking midfielder, which is the reason why he's had 10+ goals per season in the Bundesliga.
Note: the following stats are from WhoScored.com that only keep track of league and European statistics in detail (no domestic cup stats are detailed)
Definitions of the following terms according to WhoScored.com:
- Through ball: An attempted/accurate pass between opposition players in their defensive line to find an onrushing teammate (running through on goal)
- Cross: An attempted/accurate pass from a wide position to a central attacking area
- Long ball: An attempted/accurate pass of 25 yards or more
In Kagawa's Borussia Dortmund days (his best performances), he attempted 19 through balls, 59 crosses, and 112 long balls in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons combined. Compare this to Mata at his best 2 seasons at Chelsea who attempted 49 through balls, 600 crosses, and 323 long balls in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons combined. For fun, let's involve David Silva at his best 2 seasons at Man. City, as well, who attempted 126 through balls, 257 crosses, and 161 long balls in the 2011/12 and 2013/14 seasons combined.
These stats may tell you that Kagawa doesn't like to take risks and prefers the safer passes than the risky ones. However, Kagawa's passing accuracy (81.9%) is lower than those of Mata (85.9%) and Silva (87.6%). This tells you that Kagawa still played a risky game by being heavily involved in the final third trying to pass and move around/through the opposition in tight spaces. This is unlike Mata and Silva, who often dropped deeper and maintained possession for lengthy periods of time before attempting something.
Kagawa's not good at handling physical pressure from the opposition. He's not the best at taking his man on (though is decent at it). He's also not willing to play long balls, through balls, and crosses into the box (though his crossing and through balls are pretty dangerous). In this case, he can't be relied upon to create the majority of our chances. However, what he can be relied upon is to make our passing quicker, make our attacks more incisive, and provide us with more goalscoring opportunities.
