He does a lot more than just defending. He is supposed to start attacks and support the midfield. Surely you have noticed how important Martinez is for the style of play and the effect he has on the style of play. You can put Maguire, Evans or Lindelof in and they can replace some of his defensive duties but none of them can even dream of doing all the extra stuff Martinez does.
We’re -4 with him on the pitch and +3 with him off. I agree that eye test wise we look better with him in the side. He’s better at passing through the lines than any of our CBs and us good at winning the ball high up the pitch, although Maguire is better IMHO and Varane is his equal at least.
The narrative that he’s our most important and best defender is a popular one, but I don’t think it’s true and the numbers bear that out. I do love his mentality.
In my opinion, a healthy and fit Shaw, followed by Dalot, then Licha, Varane, Maguire, etc. is the order of importance.
It’s popular to heap the blame on our poor performances this season on Licha’s injury woes, like he’s the second coming of Franz Beckenbaur, but it’s just not true.