Can Arsenal defy the odds and win the Premier League without a consistent top goalscorer? It's a bold question, but one that's worth exploring.
No Premier League champion has ever gone without a player in the top 10 goal scorers, but Arsenal's current season is challenging that notion. With an impressive record of just two defeats across all competitions, a perfect Champions League run, and a comfortable lead at the top of the Premier League, the Gunners are defying expectations.
But here's where it gets controversial: Arsenal's success is being achieved without a reliable, free-scoring forward. While Manchester City leads the league in goals, Arsenal has managed to keep pace without a consistent goalscorer.
Take, for example, Erling Haaland, who has already netted 20 league goals this season. In contrast, Arsenal's top scorers in the division, Leandro Trossard and Viktor Gyokeres, have only five goals each, ranking them 21st in the goalscoring charts.
Arsenal spent a significant sum on Gyokeres, but the Swedish international has struggled to replicate his prolific form from Sporting in Portugal, where he scored an impressive 97 goals in just 102 games. Recent performances have been disappointing, with the 27-year-old lacking confidence. In Arsenal's last league game against Liverpool, Gyokeres managed only eight touches and failed to take a shot, a far cry from his dominant displays in Portugal.
Despite not winning the league since 2004, Arsenal is now a favorite to lift the title, and if they do, it will be their first trophy since 2020 when they won the FA Cup in Arteta's first season.
So, could Arsenal's fortunes change by the end of the season?
The return of Kai Havertz provides Arteta with a new attacking option. The German international, who has been out for almost a year due to hamstring and knee injuries, made his comeback in the FA Cup win over Portsmouth, playing the final 21 minutes. Arteta praised Havertz's awareness and movement, suggesting he could become Arsenal's starting striker once fully fit.
Gabriel Jesus, who recently returned from an ACL injury, has also shown glimpses of his quality, giving Arteta three strikers to choose from.
But is it a concern if Arsenal doesn't have a regular goalscorer? The lowest goal scorer from a Premier League-winning side is Frank Lampard with 13 goals in Chelsea's 2004-05 campaign, a record matched by Ilkay Gundogan in Manchester City's 2020-21 title-winning season.
When asked about this statistic, Arteta emphasized the importance of spreading goals across the team, stating, "We want the goals to spread, and our strikers scoring over 20 goals, that's the idea."
And that's exactly what Arsenal is doing. They have 13 different top-flight goal scorers this season, second only to Brighton's 15.
Arteta's focus is on the team's performance and winning matches, and he's not concerned about individual goal tallies.
There are parallels to be drawn with Chelsea's title-winning side in 2005. Jose Mourinho's team had a formidable defense, conceding just 15 goals throughout the Premier League campaign. Similarly, Arsenal has conceded only 14 goals in 21 league games, the fewest of any side, despite injuries to key defenders.
While Gyokeres' performances have been underwhelming, Arsenal has lost only once when he started.
Manchester City's title-winning season in 2020-21 also saw goals spread across the team, with Gundogan, Sterling, Foden, Gabriel Jesus, and Mahrez all contributing significantly.
With 17 league games remaining, Trossard and Gyokeres would need to score at an unlikely rate of almost a goal every two games to reach 13 goals.
Arsenal has consistently been the best all-round team this season, with opposition managers unable to pinpoint a weakness. They are also the league's best side from set-pieces, having scored 17 goals from corners across all competitions, the most by any Premier League team.
After three consecutive second-place finishes, the Gunners are poised to take the next step and claim the title, even without a dominant goalscorer.
What do you think? Can Arsenal win the Premier League without a regular goalscorer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
