The TOP FIVE Worst Finishers In The Premier League This Season (Including 2 Arsenal Players And 1 Chelsea Star)

David Tully

1 year ago

Categories: Galleries, West Ham United News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Brentford, Brighton, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Leeds, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Southampton, Spurs, West Ham, Wolves

After ranking the worst finishers in Europe’s top five leagues earlier this year, we are going to focus exclusively on the English top flight for this post today.

Some forwards are simply more clinical than others and there are real metrics these days to measure their wastefulness in front of goal.

For ranking our top five, we will be comparing non-penalty xG to a player’s actual goals.

Press the next page as we count down the worst finishers in the Premier League this campaign (based on stats from FBRef).

5) Eddie Nketiah – Arsenal (-3.4 Goals Compared To Non-Penalty xG)

Remarkably, the 23-year-old is one of two Arsenal strikers in our top five and, while he did earn some plaudits for the way he covered for Gabriel Jesus when the Brazilian was out injured, he wasn’t really clinical in front of goal.

There have been some memorable moments for Nketiah this season, most notably his brace against Manchester United, but he has managed just two other goals in the league.

Manager Mikel Arteta may well consider Folarin Balogun, who has been banging in the goals for Reims out on loan, as a better backup option next campaign.

4) Andreas Pereira – Fulham (-3.5 Goals)

The Brazilian has actually been getting a lot of praise since the Cottagers opted to pay Manchester United £10m for the player last summer.

Pereira’s four goals and six assists is not a bad return for a team who were newly promoted from the Championship, but it’s clear that he should have converted more of the chances that have come his way.

The 27-year-old does plenty of work for Fulham other than scoring goals so his manager Marco Silva will still probably be satisfied with how the player’s first season has gone at Craven Cottage.

3) Kai Havertz – Chelsea (-3.6 Goals)

Chelsea supporters have been pulling their hair out all season with regards to the German international’s finishing.

There have been games where things have clicked in front of goal for Havertz. He is, after all, the club’s top scorer on nine goals in all competitions.

However, there have been many occasions where the forward has missed gilt-edged opportunities and very few fans believe he is cut out for leading the line at the highest level.

2) Danny Welbeck – Brighton (-3.9 Goals)

Finishing has been an issue that the former England striker has been criticised about throughout his entire career and, despite now being 32 years of age, it is not something he has managed to improve by any noticeable degree.

However, for Brighton, Welbeck is not picked to start simply for putting the ball into the back of the net. His ability to make runs and pull defenders out of position makes him a handful.

While he doesn’t always finish the chances presented to him, his work rate and ability to press means he does make a worthwhile contribution to the team.

1) Gabriel Jesus – Arsenal (-4.1 Goals)

It’s quite remarkable that the Premier League leaders have two forwards in the top five for their bad finishing.

Jesus did go through a spell before the World Cup where he couldn’t hit a barn door, and that is likely why his numbers are so poor.

The Brazilian international has, however, contributed massively to the Gunners’ remarkable title challenge this season, so many will forgive his profligacy in front of goal.