The five current deadliest attacks in the Premier League.
Following a summer of heavy transfer activity that saw most sides pick up a striker or two, the Premier League can now boast some of the deadliest attacks in the world. But exactly how deadly are they? Though many of them may not have played together yet, their accumulative efforts in front of goal should give us some insight into just how good they can be expected to be. Below we take a look at just how they’ve ranked over the past two seasons.
5. Arsenal – 64 goals
Who: Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck
The Gunners sought to add a new dimension to their front line this season with the £35m capture of Barcelona’s Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean’s stock has never been higher after an outstanding World Cup, and now he will be hoping to continue his output of 27 goals over the past two seasons.
Last year saw Olivier Giroud prop up the club’s attack all on his own with 16 goals, taking hit total up to 27, whilst another new recruit, Danny Welbeck, will be hoping to occupy a more central role to add to his limited output of just nine.
4. Chelsea – 73 goals
Who: Diego Costa, Didier Drogba, Loic Remy
Outscoring the Gunners by a whole nine goals, manager Jose Mourinho spent big to replace his misfiring front line by shelling out over £30m for Diego Costa’s services from Atletico Madrid. Having bagged an impressive 37 goals over his final two seasons in the Spanish capital, the bulk of which came last term as he fired the club to a shock La Liga victory.
Despite his advancing years, Didier Drogba has proved that he has not lost his scoring touch, clocking up. Bofore notching up 13 strikes in Turkey last term, he managed to score eight times during a short stint in China, while Loic Remy struck 14 times for Newcastle last season on loan from QPR. Remy actually scored six for Rangers in the second half of the 2012/13 season, with another one coming at Marseille.
3. Manchester City – 75 goals
Who: Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, Stevan Jovetic
They may have jettisoned Alvaro Negredo over the summer but they already had a strong strike force in the shape of Argentine international Sergio Aguero, who, helped himself to 29 goals, a number which would have been higher had he not suffered a season threatening injury last term. Aguero will be backed up the the capable Dzeko, who has forced his way back into Pellegrini’s plans as a first choice regular, having clocked up the bulk of his 30 strikes in Aguero’s absence.
Stevan Jovetic is now fit again, he will be hoping to add to his total of 16 goals with an extended run in the first team where he can make up for lost time.
2. Liverpool – 87 goals
Who: Daniel Sturridge, Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert
Sturridge flourished last season and finally began show that he is a genuine predator in front of goal. Bagging 32 goals over the past two seasons he will be expected to carry on where he left off last term and make sure the blow of losing Luis Suarez is not so hard to take. Mario Balotelli, the man signed to take Suarez’s place in the squad, has done his credentials no harm by clocking up 26 goals for AC Milan during the same time period.
However, the surpass package comes in the shape of Lambert, whose 28 goals over two Premier League seasons forced Brendan Rodgers to splash out a cool £4m in order to bring him on board from Southampton. He will be expected to feature mostly from the bench, but a good run of goals could lead to an extended run of games.
1. Manchester United – 104 goals
Who: Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, Radamel Falcao
Uniter have perhaps the most comprehensive front lines in the Premier League this season. All eyes will undoubtedly be on Radamel Falcao, who banged in 37 goals for Monaco and Atletico Madrid recently – that number would be considerably higher had he not suffered a debilitating injury in the new year.
Robin Van Persie fired United to the title in his first season at Old Trafford, collecting 38 goals in the league, whilst Rooney, who is now expected to fit in just behind the the strikers, gave the cause a boost with 26 goals of his own.
Image gallery: Falcao WAG