Is Erling Haaland already the best goalscorer in Premier League history?

Karan Ahgun

— 4 min read
Is Erling Haaland already the best goalscorer in Premier League history?

After a football-free summer, Erling Haaland has once again taken the Premier League by storm. Having scored 7 goals in 3 games, it is clear to see that the Norwegian striker is refreshed and looking deadlier than ever. He doesn't even need to be that involved in games because he knows that once he gets that chance, it's more than likely that the ball will end up in the back of the net! So is Haaland the best ever goalscorer in Premier League history?

You will know that Haaland has already won the Golden Boot in both his previous Premier League seasons and it looks like the pattern won't be ending this season. He is already 4 goals ahead of the next players in the Golden Boot race and barring any serious injury, it is entirely plausible that he may go on to smash his own record of most goals scored in a 38-game season. Haaland has already broken a record this season, becoming the first player ever to score 7 goals in the first 3 games of a Premier League season. With back-to-back hat-tricks against Ipswich Town and West Ham United, it seems like an ominous task for defenders to try and stop this goal machine. Manchester City play Arsenal in a couple of games time and the Gunners' centre-back duo of Saliba and Gabriel are widely regarded as the best in the league. Haaland failed to score against them last season, so is there a way to stop him from scoring?

One of the most striking things about Haaland's performances so far this season has been his frightful accuracy. He has only missed 2 out of the 7 big chances he's had this season, meaning than he has a big chance conversion rate of over 70% compared to 38% for the whole of last season. The sample size for this season is drastically smaller but should Haaland mean to go on as he has started, I wouldn't be surprised if his conversion rate only drops by a maximum of 10%. Another facet of Haaland's game that has been regularly criticised is his lack of finesse in the way he plays. Some say that he looks clunky on the ball and "doesn't pass the eye test". Well, that has somewhat been put to rest in the first 3 games of the season. There has been a element of refined play in Haaland's performances, particularly when you watch how he has taken his goals this season. All 3 goals against West Ham highlighted this. In all cases, his first touch was perfect which made the finish so much easier to pull off. Sliding the ball past the keeper, blasting the ball into the roof of the net and a delicate chip all highlight the range of Haaland's finishing and the finesse with which he executes is clearly something he has worked on over the summer.

A traditional way to stop a striker from scoring is to starve him of the ball as much as possible. This does not apply to Erling Haaland! Even without touching the ball that much, Haaland will probably score. Last season, Roy Keane criticised Haaland for not being that involved in the game, referring to him as a "League Two striker" but Haaland has since silenced him. There was an astonishing stat from Man City's first game this season. Haaland became the first player ever to complete only 3 passes in 90 minutes playing under Pep Guardiola. He scored in the game against Chelsea as well, showing that he does not need to be that involved in the game to have a big impact on the result. Another way to potentially stop Haaland is to keep a close eye on the striker as much as possible. This does not mean tight man-marking because Haaland can easily bounce centre-backs off or sprint past them. Rather, defenders could keep him within reach so that he doesn't have space in front to run into and they're not too tight where the striker can easily roll them. It does look like a difficult task to try an stop Erling Haaland for Premier League defenders. The best strategy is probably to cut off his supply so that he doesn't get as many chances to score.

In terms of his goalscoring rate, Haaland has scored 70 goals in 69 appearances in the league. He still has a way to go to beat Alan Shearer's record of 260 goals but the rate at which Haaland is scoring is something the Premier League hasn't seen before. It is almost inevitable that the Norwegian will join the Premier League 100 club by the end of this season. He will be aiming to break the record for the fastest player to reach this milestone. Alan Shearer also holds this record, scoring his first 100 Premier League goals in 124 games.

If Erling Haaland is to stay clear of major injuries and stays in the Premier League for most of his career, I believe that he will break Shearer's goal record by the age of 30 and will undoubtedly be recognised as the greatest goalscorer the Premier League has ever seen!

Talk soon!

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