Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott at the top of the scoring charts

How has Arsenal done in the 2016-2017 season of the English Premier League (EPL) till now? Let us see how the Gunners have performed in the latest season of EPL so far. Arsene Wenger’s team started the current EPL season in a spectacular way, with the team at present being on a winning streak with five games. This specifically makes up for their bad start to Liverpool at home on the season’s opening day. However, what is behind the improvement of this team? Here, are the key statistics behind the great start of the Gunners to the 2016/17 season, along with the team’s top performers. Plus, look at how Arsenal is doing in comparison with their rivals in the Premier League. Goals Arsenal is at the second number in terms of goals in this season. The one team that has more goals than Arsenal is Manchester City with 18 goals. Wenger’s men have scored 16 goals in the league so far. In the last term at this point, they had only managed to score 10 goals. This shows how the team has improved and all thanks goes primarily to the form of Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott. Sanchez is now relishing his new open role. So, in terms of goals, let us see at the top scorers from the Arsenal team in the Premier League in this season. Alexis Sanchez is at the top with 4 goals, Theo Walcott is next with 3 goals, Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny, and Santi Cazorla all have scored 2 goals each. The north Londoners have only Liverpool with 11 goals above them, in terms of the open play technique to score their goals, so far in the season. Let us look at some things that helped Arsenal to achieve their 16 goals so far. Open play has helped them a lot to score goals, with 62.50 per cent, then set piece has helped them with 18.75 per cent, penalty with 12.50 per cent, and counter attack with 6.25 per cent. Shooting Although, Arsenal is branded as wasteful during the era of Wenger, this season Arsenal has been scoring freely till now in spite of not being the most spirited side in taking shots in the league. Liverpool leads the way in this department with 19.3 shots on an average in each game. Arsenal is way much below in terms of shooting at the 8^th rank with just 15 shots, which is the lowest for any team that is considered a serious title challenger, save for champions Leicester with 12 shots. When looking at the shots per game of every team in the Premier League 2016-2017, Liverpool comes at the top with 19.30 shots, then Tottenham with 18.10 shots, Chelsea with 17.40 shots, Manchester United with 17.30 shots, Manchester City with 16.90 shots, Southamptom with 16 shots, West Ham United F.C. with 15.10 shots, and finally Arsenal with 15 shots at number 8. Although Arsenal should definitely be shooting more, they are still shooting from rational positions and taking their chances. Personal highlights This season is doing great for Alexis Sanchez so far after he moved from out wide to up front, a decision which is doing great till now. The 27-year-old player is at the top of all other players in the Arsenal club with 6 goals, 9 appearances, and 3 assists till now. He has a lot of strengths, including key passes, through balls, dribbling, finishing, passing, long shots, and direct free-kicks. His likes to cut inside, do layoffs, and dribble. Plus, he often plays the ball off the ground and is seen as a counter attack threat. Sanchez certainly has the potential to become the outstanding striker. Then, it is Laurent Koscielny who has scored 2 goals, 9 appearances, and won 3.9 aerials till now.  His great ball interception and passing skills have done wonders for the team. Plus, he also plays short passes very often. Theo Walcott is the next on the list with 5 goals and 2 assists. He is good in finishing and taking set-pieces. Plus, his counter attack is good. The 27-year-old likes to cut inside and play short passes. He does not dive into tackles. Shkodran Mustafi has won 3 aerials till now, which shows how strong he is in aerial duels. Besides this, his tackling and ball interception skills are great. He likes to tackle and cross and often clears the ball out of defense. Mesut Ozil with 3 goals likes to do layoffs and play short passes. He does not dive into tackles. Among his strengths, he is strong in key passes, through balls, passing, crossing, taking set-pieces, dribbling, and holding on the ball.   This year, there have also been two new additions to the club, with Granit Xhaka and Jamie Vardy. Xhaka has scored 1 goal so far and has won 1 aerial. He has strong passing skills, along with ball interception and aerial duels. This 24-year-old likes to shoot from distance and play long balls. So, keep watching the Premier League and see how Arsenal performs in its future matches in this season. Maybe the Gunners can finally win the title in the 2016/17 EPL season.