Premier League clubs have spent a record amount of £1.92 billion in the 2025 summer transfer window to strengthen their attack. Most of the budget is spent on strikers, with the expectation of improving attacking quality and increasing goals.
However, reality on the field is going in a completely opposite direction. Although teams spend unprecedented amounts of money on the number 9 position, the number of goals in the Premier League this season is clearly decreasing, especially from live ball situations.
Even Erling Haaland - one of the 3 rare strikers to reach the two-digit goal mark in the tournament, alongside Igor Thiago (Brentford) and newcomer Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City) - is also going through a difficult time.
The goalless draw against Manchester United recently caused Haaland to prolong his 5-match winning streak in the Premier League. In fact, the goal from a penalty spot against Brighton only helped him end his 8-match absence streak in all competitions.
And Haaland is not an isolated case.
Goals are increasingly scarce
According to statistics, the average number of goals scored by strikers in the Premier League this season has decreased to 1.36 goals per match - the lowest level in the last 10 years.
This number is significantly lower than the 1.58 goals/match last season and 1.69 goals/match in the 2023-2024 season.
Many highly anticipated strikers also face a similar situation. Viktor Gyokeres has scored in the Champions League for Arsenal but has not yet scored a single goal from a live ball after 10 matches in the Premier League.
Benjamin Sesko (Man United) has only scored 4 goals in 17 appearances. Nick Woltemade (Newcastle United) has only 1 goal in the last 9 matches. These figures show that the decline is no longer personal, but has become a common trend throughout the tournament.
When defense takes over
One of the biggest reasons comes from the tactical changes of the teams. The Premier League is currently witnessing a breakthrough development in defensive organization. The teams prioritize maintaining short formation distances, block pressing and narrowing the space in front of the penalty area.
The number of players appearing in the penalty area is increasing. If in the 2019-2020 season, there were on average only 8.3 players in the penalty area each time the ball was brought in, then this number in the current season has increased to 9.4 players - the highest level in the league history.
This makes strikers often fall into a situation of being closely marked, lacking room to maneuver and making it very difficult to launch a favorable finish.
Space disappears
Coach Mikel Arteta once frankly admitted the difficulties that number 9 strikers are facing: "Playing in the center forward position in the Premier League today is extremely difficult. Center-backs are stronger, better organized and space to exploit is almost gone.
Not only defending better, teams also reorganize extremely quickly. The average time for the defense to stabilize after losing the ball is currently less than 3 seconds, significantly lower than in previous seasons.
The number of times the defense was stretched also decreased sharply, from about 80 times every 90 minutes in the 2019-2020 season to about 60 times in recent seasons.
The trend of tight defense is making the Premier League more goal-scarce.
In the most recent round, only 16 goals appeared in 10 matches. Since the beginning of the season, the league has had 17 goalless draws, more than the total of the previous two full seasons combined.
In that context, although clubs continue to invest heavily in the attack, strikers still face a harsh reality when scoring goals in the Premier League has never been so difficult.
