Manchester City’s Erling Haaland catching the Premier League by storm (Credit: Matt McNulty)
As a result of a five-week break due to the World Cup, the 2022/23 Premier League season is back and just under halfway, ending later than usual.
The excitement of the World Cup may have left people wondering where we left of this campaign, but this season has been no different, the nerve-jangling, topsy-turvy, nail-biting rollercoaster continued to prove why the Premier League is the best league in the world.
England’s top tier has been home to some of the world’s greatest attackers over recent decades, leaving many of us truly fortunate to witness those goal scoring capabilities. This includes the likes of Sergio Aguero, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Alan Shearer.
In this article I will be digging into the statistics behind the Premier League’s four best offensive players so far this campaign.
4. Martin Odegaard (Norway) – Arsenal (1st) Avg. Match Rating: 7.50
Martin Odegaard, the former Real Madrid attacking midfielder joined the Gunners in 2021 after a successful six-month loan-spell at the Emirates. The Norwegian has scored eight goals in 17 matches so far this season, scoring six of the eight away from home. Overall, Martin Odegaard’s goals scored per 90 minutes is over 0.47, which sees him in the 93rd percentile.
Odegaard who is having his best goal contribution in a season, already has 13 total goal-contributions, equating to 0.8 every 90 minutes, moving him up into the 95th percentile. Odegaard is averaging 2.2 key passes a game, (the joint fourth best in the league), whilst having a pass success rate of 82% (also fourth best in the league). His Non-Penalty xG per 90 minutes is 0.33. This puts Odegaard's npxG output at 4.95 which puts him in the top 93 percentile of Premier League players, and 21st in the world.
Premier League offensive players’ goal contributions so far:
A graph showing the total amount of goal contributions (goals + assists), the top nine performing Premier League offensive players have so far. Martin Odegaard is joint fourth with his fellow teammate Bukayo Saka and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne. Ivan Toney and Harry Kane are joint second (16), and Erling Haaland (24) is the most successful.
Chart: Cameron Gillies / Source: WhoScored.com / Created with Word
(Caption: Values shown on graph were sampled as of January 15, 2023, and may be subject to change in the future)
3. Gabriel Jesus (Brazil) – Arsenal (1st) Avg. Match Rating: 7.59
Jesus, who has turned out to be an excellent bit of business from Mikel Arteta, has performed to a consistent level up top for the Gunners. The Brazilian, who already has five goals and five assists in just 14 appearances, is averaging 0.37 goals a game, putting him in the 90th percentile.
The 25-year-old has a goal involvement of 0.73 per 90 minutes. His Non-Penalty xG per 90 minutes is 0.33. This puts Jesus's npxG output at 4.55, putting him in the top 93 percentile of Premier League players.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, Jesus suffered a knee injury during Brazil's final World Cup group match in Qatar in December. He returned to London a couple of days later and underwent surgery on the issue. Mikel Arteta admits this was a huge blow, especially if the Gunners wish to challenge for the title. The evidence is there as the Brazilian is joint second for shots per game (3.6), and joint third on aerials won (1.7) within the top attacking players in England’s top flight.
Premier League offensive players’ aerial success rates
A graph showing the aerial success rate of the top nine premier league attacking players. Gabriel Jesus registers the third highest amount with Tottenham’s Harry Kane.
Chart: Cameron Gillies / Source: WhoScored.com / Created with Word
(Caption: Values shown on graph were sampled as of January 12, 2023, and are subject to change in the future of the season)
2. Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium) – Manchester City 2nd – Avg. Match Rating: 7.62
Moving away from North-London and up to the blue side of Manchester, we have arguably one of the best players to ever play in the Premier League.
Kevin De Bruyne who has 228 overall Premier League appearances alone, has managed 60 goals and 96 assists for City. The two-time player of the season has yet again performed on a consistent basis this season, contributing a total of 13 goals (three goals & ten assists), equating to 0.78 per 90 minutes.
Currently ranked second for assists per 90 minutes (0.60), and in the 98th percentile, it has moved the 31-year-old
into second place for best attacking midfielders in the world.
His Non-Penalty xG per 90 minutes is 0.18. This puts De Bruyne's npxG output at 3.02, placing him in the top 83 percentile of Premier League players.
Out of the nine top offensive players, De Bruyne has the most assists (ten), and is fifth for his passing success rate at 79.5%.
Premier League attackers’ successive passes per game
A chart showing the average completed successful passes each game of the top nine performing attackers in the Premier League. Rodri from Manchester City has the highest success rate of 91%.
Chart: Cameron Gillies / Source: FootyStats / Created with Word
(Caption: Figures shown in the chart were sampled as of January 12, 2023, and are very likely to change in the future)
1. Erling Haaland (Norway) – Manchester City 2nd – Avg. Match Rating: 7.70
Erling Haaland joined City from Borussia Dortmund back in July 2022, after agreeing a five-year deal keeping him at the Etihad Stadium until the summer of 2027.
The Norwegian’s career so far has been characterised by one thing, goals. Strong, tall, quick, good in the air and capable of scoring a variety of goals off either foot, he’s provided City with 21 goals in 17 matches already this campaign. It also gives City the option of an out and out striker, something that was deemed impossible to find since the departure of Sergio Aguero.
Overall, Erling Haaland's goals scored per 90 minutes (1.35) is astonishing. The 22-year-old’s total goal-contribution (goals + assists) is 24, setting him miles ahead of anyone else in the Premier League. The continuous contribution he keeps on giving equates to 1.54 per 90 minutes, including him in the top 99 percentile of Premier League players.
Premier League attackers’ average shots per game
A graph showing the average amount of shots the top nine offensive Premier League players complete each game. Erling Haaland records the highest amount, as he is the most successful respectively.
Chart: Cameron Gillies / Source: WhoScored.com / Created with Word
(Caption: Figures shown in the chart were sampled as of January 12, 2023, and are very likely to change in the future)
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