A record number of Premier League champions have failed to find a top scorer who scored more than five goals in the entire season. This anomaly stems from Arsenal's relatively low-scoring campaign, where only two players managed this feat – Viktor Gyökeres and Leandro Trossard with five goals each.
In fact, the Gunners' league total of 40 goals was shared among 13 players – including own goals – making them one of the few teams to achieve this. Other clubs like Everton, Sunderland, and Wolves also had leading scorers with fewer than five goals.
Arsenal's inability to produce a top scorer has become a recurring theme in their history. As Steven Pye noted, it is striking how many serial champions have spread the goals around their team instead of having a golden boot winner. This trend can be seen in Liverpool's 1970s and Manchester United's 1990s under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Some notable examples include Don Revie's Leeds, who managed to score over ten goals between four players during their 1974 title win. Similarly, Eric Cantona led Manchester United with 14 goals in the 1995-96 season, while Frank Lampard scored 13 for Chelsea in 2004-05.
Other clubs like Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers have also had low-scoring champions. Sunderland's 1901-02 title win featured a duo of Jimmy Gemmell and Billy Hogg as their top scorers with ten goals each, while Wigan Athletic's 2020-21 campaign saw the team score seven against Hull City.
The anomaly of having few or no top scorers in Premier League champions is worth exploring further.
In fact, the Gunners' league total of 40 goals was shared among 13 players – including own goals – making them one of the few teams to achieve this. Other clubs like Everton, Sunderland, and Wolves also had leading scorers with fewer than five goals.
Arsenal's inability to produce a top scorer has become a recurring theme in their history. As Steven Pye noted, it is striking how many serial champions have spread the goals around their team instead of having a golden boot winner. This trend can be seen in Liverpool's 1970s and Manchester United's 1990s under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Some notable examples include Don Revie's Leeds, who managed to score over ten goals between four players during their 1974 title win. Similarly, Eric Cantona led Manchester United with 14 goals in the 1995-96 season, while Frank Lampard scored 13 for Chelsea in 2004-05.
Other clubs like Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers have also had low-scoring champions. Sunderland's 1901-02 title win featured a duo of Jimmy Gemmell and Billy Hogg as their top scorers with ten goals each, while Wigan Athletic's 2020-21 campaign saw the team score seven against Hull City.
The anomaly of having few or no top scorers in Premier League champions is worth exploring further.
I mean, Arsenal was low-key the only team with players getting 5+ goals, and even then, there were only two! 
What's going on with these teams not having a top scorer? Is everyone just distributing their points around or something? 
It's interesting to see that some teams in the past have done this too... like Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson. But for how long can this go on?
. Like, you'd think with all the money teams are spending on players, they'd be able to find someone who can just carry them to a title 
. But nope, Arsenal's the only team that comes close with like two dudes scoring 5 goals each and that's it 
. It's crazy how some of these big champions just have to spread the love around their squad instead of having one superstar striker 
.
. But now it seems like teams are trying to do things differently, maybe because they've got more depth or something 
. Whatever it is, I'm just here for the entertainment value of watching these players try and make it work 
.
i mean, it's not just arsenal, other clubs like everton and wolves also had players scoring way less than 5. don't get me wrong, it's cool that they shared the load, but it's still weird to think about how many of these champ teams have this 'no golden boot' thing going on 
. And then you got these other clubs like Leeds and Manchester United in the 70s and 90s who had like two or three players lightin' it up... it's just fascinatin' to me how different teams are approachin' goal-scoring strategies nowadays 
. I think it'd be cool to see some analysis on this, maybe what teams are doin' right, what teams are doin' wrong... might give us some insight into why this is happenin' 
.
.
.