How highly do Arsenal’s attack rate in the Premier League this season?

Arsenal attack

How highly do Arsenal’s attack rate in the Premier League this season?

By Jack Lacey-Hatton

Arsenal’s attacking unit has undoubtedly been key to Mikel Arteta reigniting a Champions League challenge this season.

You only have to hear Gooners at grounds across the land singing loudly and proudly about Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe, to know how fundamental the team’s forward stars have been to the upturn in results this season.

Even the departure of the previously talismanic captain and number nine Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, midway through the campaign, hasn’t overly impacted upon Arsenal’s resurgence.

While goalkeeper, defence and midfield have also improved this season compared with the last, to varying degrees, the collective ability at the top of the pitch has made a huge difference.

But how does Arsenal’s attack compare with the rest of the Premier League so far?
 

Goal return

Perhaps the priority area to strengthen in attack over the summer transfer window will be the goalscoring department.

Whilst Aubameyang’s departure was probably for the best, with the team not suffering a great deal since he left 
North London for Barcelona, it has left the team lighter in this area than some of their counterparts chasing Champions League spots. 

The North London neighbours have an attack featuring Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, while Manchester United can call upon an ageing but effective Cristiano Ronaldo.

At time of writing, the Gunners have scored 44 goals this season, currently the seventh highest total of the 20 clubs in the Premier League.

This is not a bad return but not enough to blow anyone away either. 

Compared with their total after exactly the same amount of games last season, Arsenal have only four more than they did 12 months ago. In short, it hasn’t been a sudden upturn in goals that has driven Arteta’s team to a top four challenge.

Fellow top four rivals Spurs, Manchester United and West Ham United all have a greater goal return so far, in fact 11th placed Aston Villa only have two fewer.

It perhaps goes someway to explaining why some fans on social media in the wake of the Crystal Palace defeat last Monday, were arguing that losing Thomas Partey to injury was worse than if Saka had to miss a few games.

It is wins like the 1-0 success at Aston Villa a few weeks back that have made the difference this season, rather than outscoring the opposition.

But this does not mean the Arsenal attacking quadrant is still not one of the strongest in the league.

In recent months the team have played their most entertaining and productive attacking football seen in Mikel Arteta's entire reign since Aubameyang left.

The fact that the manager has at times struggled to fit Saka, Smith Rowe, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli into the same team, tells its own story.

Goal return alone doesn’t show it but the depth of Arsenal’s attack can compete with anyone outside the top three.
 

Individual stats 

When it comes to the league-wide individual player stats table, no Arsenal attacker particularly stands out. 

However, it could be argued that shows a more cohesive and collective attacking focus from Arteta’s side, rather than relying on one outstanding or talismanic player.

The strongest performing individual purely on these metrics is midfielder Martin Odegaard, who ranks third in the entire league for successful through balls this season (with 18), only behind Harry Kane and Bruno Fernandes.

The Norwegian does offer a unique dimension to the Arsenal attack when he plays, and can compete with any creative midfielder in the league.

Another Arsenal midfielder, Partey also makes the top 20 in the list. 

One other bright spot is French forward Alexandre Lacazette’s ability to create goals. 

This is also highlighted in the individual stats, with only five players across the division having more assists to their name than the Frenchman at this point in the season.
 

Conclusion

The Arsenal attack is far from the complete product.

Of course when you compare to the forward lines and attacking midfielders at the disposal of Liverpool and Manchester City, you begin to see the gulf in class is still there.

But we have also seen that Mikel Arteta’s team, while not prolific in front of goal, have a far better attacking set-up than they are given credit for.

It is not the best in the league – but is it good enough to help the team go on and secure a place in the top four at the end of the season? You bet.

Photo credit: Getty Images

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