Arsene Wenger has praised Arsenal’s efficiency in front of goal but is it really sustainable? Adam Bate examines the statistics that suggest the Gunners will need to create more… Arsenal have scored 24 Premier League goals this season. Theyre among the top four scorers. Those teams also happen to be the four at the top of the table and the favourites to win the title according to the bookmakers. In other words, theyre in good company. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal and get the first six months half price But delve deeper into the numbers and Arsenals success so far has been different to rivals Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City. Its been built on efficiency rather than creativity. A side with a reputation for wastefulness in front of goal has been unusually ruthless. Arsene Wenger has noticed the trend himself. Maybe the reason for us scoring freely of late is that weve been making more of our chances, the manager suggested last month when discussing the matter. The final ball is better. Is that because our finishing is better? Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. Its difficult to analyse at the moment, but what is for sure is that we score more goals. We score lots of goals. Thats what our game is about. We have a risky game and therefore its important that we take our chances.Perhaps cruelly, Wenger took the decision to ruminate on Arsenals efficiency ahead of the home game against Middlesbrough. His players proceeded to play out a 0-0 draw and the tune changed. We have to find a way to be efficient even when the games are like that. The Sunday Supplement panel on whether Mesut Ozil will sign a new deal Thats the crux of the problem. Can Arsenal really be expected to sustain such efficiency? Arsenal have scored a goal for every 5.1 chances theyve created this season - better than anyone else. Thats a good thing. But history would suggest it is too good to continue.The next best conversion rate belongs to Chelsea who are scoring a goal for every 5.7 chances they create. Thats the same as champions Leicester managed in being last seasons most efficient side. The season before that, the best rate was a goal every 6.3 chances. Chances created per goal - Selected teams PL Rank Team Chances / goal 1 Arsenal 5.1 2 Chelsea 5.7 3 Liverpool 5.7 5 Man City 6.1 16 Man Utd 8.8 17 Tottenham 9.5 Across those two seasons Arsenal scored a goal every seventh chance. At that rate they would have scored no more than 18 goals this season. In other words, Wengers side have already scored six more goals than their previous finishing record would have suggested.Arsenals shot conversion rate this season is 14.4 per cent. Again, its a good sign. Leicester had the best rate last season and Chelsea had the best the year before that. Both won the title. But neither topped 13.0 per cent. A dip seems inevitable and that could be an issue. Arsenal conversion rates Season Goals per game Conversion rate 2010/11 1.89 11.0% 2011/12 1.95 11.6% 2012/13 1.89 12.4% 2013/14 1.79 13.8% 2014/15 1.87 11.6% 2015/16 1.71 11.4% 2016/17 2.18 14.4% The reason is that some of Arsenals other underlying numbers are not so impressive. They rank seventh for shots and eighth for shots on target. They are sixth for clear-cut chances created and, unusually for the Gunners, as low as eighth for total chances created.In this sense, they have gone backwards. Arsenal were the only team to create more clear-cut chances than Leicester last season and were joint-top alongside Chelsea the year before. Arsenals dip in creativity 2015/16 rank 2016/17 rank Total shots 4th 7th Shots on target 2nd 8th Chances created 4th 8th Clear chances created 1st 6th Back then Wenger would praise his players for creating chances and bemoan his teams luck. Now, when scoring late goals against Southampton and Watford, its a new line. When Theo Walcott scored twice at Hull, Wenger said: Hes efficient and thats what you want.Thats a big change as Walcott had the worst clear-chance conversion rate of any player who regularly found himself in such positions last season. He converted only four of 15 opportunities that hed be reasonably expected to score according to Opta. Along with Theo Walcott, Oliver Giroud and Alexis Sanchez were two of the 12 players to miss 10+ clear chances last season Walcott and Olivier Giroud were seen as the chief culprits when it came to Arsenals wastefulness but no one man was responsible. Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey also ranked among the 20 Premier League players who missed eight clear chances or more.Arsenal missed more big chances than any other Premier League team last season and that wasnt all down to the huge volume of opportunities they were creating. They had the worst conversion rate of any top-half team too. But at least they were creating the chances. Highlights of Arsenals 1-1 draw with Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium Arsenal fans wont be too worried just yet if the goals keep coming. But with Santi Cazorla missing, the side has lost a little something from deep. Alex Iwobi, meanwhile, has made a fine start but appears to be a knitter of play rather than a man to open defences on his own. Two shots on target in 565 minutes tells a tale.Against Tottenham last time out, Arsenal had plenty of endeavour but their trademark craft was absent after the frenzy of the first half. We couldnt find the creativity, the fluency around the box and all the things we are used to, said Wenger of that performance. Man Utd vs Arsenal November 19, 2016, 11:30am Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Victory at Manchester United on Saturday would see Arsenal briefly go top of the Premier League nevertheless. Its precisely the sort of game where the efficiency theyve been showing would be ideal - an occasion where one chance could be the difference.But if the Gunners are to stay at the top of the table theyll need more than efficiency. Theyll need to up their creativity levels and their shot volumes too. Because history suggests that the current numbers are just not sustainable.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price! Also See: Giroud: No worries over future Wenger v Mourinho in quotes Tyler Higbee Jersey . 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The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. ATLANTA -- Now that hes about to make his highly anticipated debut with the New York Mets, Zack Wheeler will rely on some advice he got from a minor league coach. Dont look up. "I know its going to be a big moment in my life," Wheeler said Monday, the day before he takes the mound against the first-place Atlanta Braves. "Theres probably going to be some nerves." The 23-year-old right-hander is one of baseballs top pitching prospects and a reason for hope in what is turning out to be another dismal season for the Mets. Heightening the anticipation, hell be making his first start in the big leagues not far from where he grew up in the northwest Atlanta suburbs, meaning plenty of family and friends will be in the stands at Turner Field. Wheeler said hell try to follow a tip he got a couple of years ago from his pitching coach in Class A, former big leaguer Steve Kline, who said all the sights and sounds of a big league park can be a bit overwhelming the first time out. "He said, Whatever you do, dont look up," Wheeler said. "I think he threw up off the back of the mound his first game. Ill always remember that advice." The youngster will be joining a rotation that already includes 24-year-old Matt Harvey, who is having a brilliant year (5-1, 2.04 ERA, 102 strikeouts in 97 innings) in his first full major league season. And, in an interesting twist, Harvey will pitch the opener of a day-night doubleheader before Wheeler goes in the second game. For the Mets, its a chance to show their frustrated fans what they hope will be the centerpieces of a brighter future. "I dont think Im a saviour at all," Wheeler said. "Weve got some great arms here, some great players. We might not be doing too well right now, but I know the talent of these guys. Hopefully well turn it around soon. Im just trying to come up here and help the team any way I can." Wheeler arrived in Atlanta on Sunday and got a chance to hang out with family and three of his friends at the suburban Atlanta home he shares with one of his brothers. "It was a good night, just talking and hanging out and telling some stories," Wheeler said. "We had a good time." Now, its time to get down to business. His first start comes against a power-laden Braves team that holds the biggest lead of any division leader, a team he remembers following as a kid when they had pitchers such as Tom Glavine, Greg Madddux and John Smoltz -- though Wheeler downplayed his allegiance to the team hell be facing.dddddddddddd "I wasnt a huge baseball fan," Wheeler said. "I liked watching basketball a little bit better. But how could I not watch the Braves growing up? My pop was always watching them. They were always good. But Im not a huge Braves fan like everyone thinks I am." Wheeler was the sixth overall draft pick by the San Francisco Giants in 2009 after being selected as Georgias top prep player his last two years at East Paulding High School. He was dealt to the Mets in 2011 for outfielder Carlos Beltran and started this season at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he got off to a slow start but pitched much better in recent weeks. He was 4-2 with a 3.93 ERA for the Pacific Coast League team. The hard-throwing Wheeler struck out 73 in 68 2-3 innings, but 27 walks were a bit of a concern. Hell be looking to get more pitches over the plate in the big leagues. "I walked a lot of guys in the minors," Wheeler said. "Thats always been a problem with me. I want to come after hitters and throw strikes." New York manager Terry Collins said he told Wheeler the same thing he told Harvey before his big league debut. "Hes only one guy and hes going to go out there every fifth day," Collins said. "I told him if he pounds that strike zone, hell help." Wheeler is just the latest in a long list of players to emerge from the baseball-rich Atlanta suburbs, a group that includes a couple of Braves regulars, outfielder Jason Heyward and catcher Brian McCann. Wheeler, in fact, has worked out with Heyward during the off-season. Theyll be facing each other Tuesday. "Im happy for him," Heyward said. "Itll be fun." Wheeler said it helped to grow up playing in an area that has produced so many big leaguers, and his development was pushed along even more by his time in Las Vegas, where the altitude and baked-out desert infield created conditions that definitely favoured the hitters. "It makes you battle a little bit more," he said. "It puts a little more pressure on you." Hell try not to put too much pressure on himself as a rookie, even though Harvey has already set a high standard. "Ill just go out there and do the best I can," Wheeler said. "People can take it how they want. Hopefully Ill do well and be up here with him for a while." ' ' '