25/04 - 20:00
Stoke City's Marko Arnautovic is the Premier League's hottest matchwinner.
The Austrian has been a combative threat all season on the flank for Mark Hughes' Potters, and currently tops the goalcharts at the Britannia with nine strikes to his name.
Perhaps the most impressive statistic regarding Arnautovic's contribution is that over half his goals have decided games in Stoke's favour. In fact, the 26-year-old former Bremen winger has already decided as many games this term as the Premier League's most decisive matchwinner last season: Christian Eriksen.
Most matchwinning goals PL 15/16:
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) March 3, 2016
5 MARKO ARNAUTOVIC
4 Odion Ighalo
3 Christian Benteke & Saloman Rondon
Benchmarko. #bpl #scfc #potters
Players w/ most game-deciding goals* PL 14/15
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) January 12, 2016
5 ERIKSEN
4 Austin, Hazard, Ings, Gomis, Kane
3 Mane, Benteke, Aguero, Mata
Great Dane.
It's a fair old achievement from the Austrian and goes a long way to explaining why 7th-placed Stoke have made up ground in the Premier League table after a very slow start. In terms of Premier League history, however, Arnautovic still has some way to go to match the English top flight's greatest matchwinners.
+ BPL match winning goals
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) March 3, 2016
35 Shearer
28 Lampard, Rooney
26 Yorke
25 Ferdinand
23 Van Persie
22 Heskey#BPL
Arnautovic has always provided a decent return in terms of assists, but it is his goals that have transformed his game this season and with 10 in 31 in all competitions for Stoke already, he is on target to better the 14 in 41 he scored with FC Twente in 2008/09.
Given the calibre of players brought into the Britannia by boss Hughes, Arnautovic's rise to Stoke MVP is no mean feat. However, the likes of Bojan and Xherdan Shaqiri, who notched the Potters' winner against Newcastle on Tuesday night, trail their team-mate by some distance in terms of combined goals and assists.
Arnautovic goals/assists from 11/12 (Bremen & Stoke):
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) March 3, 2016
11/12 = 6Gs/0As
12/13 = 5Gs/6As
13/14 = 4Gs/7As
14/15 = 1G/5As
15/16 = 9Gs/4As
Next up for Stoke and Arnautovic are in-form Chelsea, who the Potters beat courtesy of an Arnautovic strike last November. Can he maintain his standards and do a match-winning double over the fallen champions?Goals (Gs) & assists (As) Stoke City PL 15/16:
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) March 3, 2016
13 - ARNAUTOVIC (9Gs/4As)
8 - Shaqiri (3Gs/5As)
6 - Bojan (5Gs/1A)
5 - Walters (4Gs/1A)
1-0 | ||
Xherdan Shaqiri 80' |
