While there’s still a long way to go in this season’s Premier League title race, Arsenal are currently the favorites to lift the trophy and end their 22-year championship drought in England.
As we enter the weekend’s matches in mid-January, the Gunners sit six points ahead of Manchester City and Aston Villa, with 21 games played. They have led the table since the beginning of October.
Arsenal missed an opportunity to extend their lead after a lackluster 0-0 draw against Liverpool in their most recent league match, yet they remain well-positioned. Mikel Arteta’s team has achieved 15 league victories, more than any other side this season, and has scored the second-most goals in the league (40, five behind City).
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The style of football being played is efficient and consistent, but even the most dedicated fans must acknowledge that the Gunners have heavily relied on scoring from set pieces. They have significantly outperformed their title rivals in goals from dead-ball situations, including free kicks, corners, and own goals.
This season, Arsenal has netted 24 goals from set pieces across all competitions—the highest in Europe’s top five leagues. In their recent Carabao Cup match against Chelsea, they scored their 18th goal from a corner this campaign.
In the Premier League, with 21 matches played, the Gunners boast a higher proportion of goals from set pieces and own goals than any title-winning team in the league’s history. They have scored 14 Premier League goals from set pieces, accounting for 35% of their total, in addition to benefiting from three own goals, making up 7.5% of their goals.
At this pace, Arsenal in the 2025-26 season is on track to become the most prolific set-piece and own-goal champions in Premier League history.
With over a third of their league campaign goals originating from set pieces, Arsenal has a higher percentage than any Premier League title-winning team on record, surpassing Manchester United’s 2007-08 champions, who had 27.5%.
United also holds the record for own goals scored for them during a title-winning run, with Sir Alex Ferguson’s 1996-97 team receiving assistance from six own goals (7.89% of their total of 76), which matches the highest for any Premier League-winning team.
That record is also held by Manchester United, who had six own goals during their 2012-13 triumph. That season, they set a record for the most goals from set pieces in a single campaign (23), a mark Arsenal is on track to surpass this year.
Chelsea holds the record for the most penalties awarded to a Premier League champion, converting 11 in the 2010-11 season, while Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City recorded the highest penalty percentage in history, with 10 penalties scored out of 68 total goals (14.71%) during their remarkable 2015-16 title win.
This season, Arsenal has only converted three penalties in the league, equating to 7.5% of their total goals, indicating they still have room to increase their numbers if they aim to claim the title of the most prolific set-piece, own-goal, and penalty champions of all time.