The five-point gap between Arsenal and Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table is, among many things, proof that signing a prolific centre-forward is no guarantee of success.
While Erling Haaland has 25 goals in just 19 starts for Pep Guardiola’s side, no one at Mikel Arteta’s disposal has even reached double figures. Martin Odegaard, Arsenal’s most prolific player, has just eight.
But while City look increasingly reliant upon their blonde bomber – and worryingly short of inspiration when Haaland’s influence is restricted by a deep-lying backline – Arsenal continue to share the goals around to staggeringly impressive effect.
Between them, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, Granit Xhaka and Gabriel Jesus have 30 in the Premier League. Centre-halves Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba have two apiece.
Auston Trusty in ‘exceptional’ form for Birmingham City
Even those not currently at the Emirates are finding goals surprisingly easy to come by. Auston Trusty’s well-placed header during Birmingham City’s victory over Swansea on Saturday was not only notable because it came in the 97th minute; sealing a dramatic 4-3 win for John Eustace’s relegation-threatened Blues. But also because it was his fourth since moving to St Andrews on loan last summer.
Trusy, lest us forget, had scored just three times in his career before arriving at Birmingham. The former MLS ace has more goals in 33 Blues games than in over 160 in America.
At the risk of kicking a man while he’s down, not even Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – the former Arsenal skipper going through the proverbial wringer at Chelsea – can compete with Trusty’s sudden scoring streak at present.
‘That’s why you play football’
“It is a great feeling,” 24-year-old Trusty tells the club’s official website. “It was just a feeling with all the goals and all of us celebrating, especially the last one with mine. Going to the fans, celebrating with the fans, all of my team-mates coming up behind me…
“That is what you play for. That is why you play football.”
Time will tell whether Mikel Arteta plans to welcome Trusty back to the Emirates; handing him a first-team spot and a chance to impress. But if he does, then the Pennsylvania-born centre-back could fit in quite nicely among Arsenal’s ever-growing throng of surprisingly-prolific goalscorers.
“He is going to be a top player,” Eustace tells the Birmingham Mail. “(Trusty) is going to go back to Arsenal and hopefully push for that first-team spot. His performances for us having been exceptional, and they are only going to get better.”
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