After scoring in Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Southampton on Wednesday night Alexis Sanchez moved back in contention to win the Premier League Golden Boot.
Sanchez’s opening goal at St Mary’s Stadium took him on to a career-best haul of 20 league goals, moving him up to third in the scorers’ standings, four behind the leader, Romelu Lukaku, of Everton.
The 28-year-old is level with Chelsea striker Diego Costa and one behind Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, all three of whom can take heart from having three matches remaining to add to their hauls, one more than Lukaku.
Describe @Alexis_Sanchez's goal in #SFCvAFC in just 1️⃣ word - and then have a read of this...https://t.co/2cuzIB6aRW
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) May 11, 2017
Costa will get the chance to make an early move on Friday night, when Chelsea take on West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns, where a win will earn the Blues the Premier League title.
He will then relish the prospect of adding more goals to his tally in the final two fixtures of the campaign, at home to Watford and Sunderland.
Having the most away goals (14) by a player this campaign Sanchez will fancy scoring on the road again at Stoke City on Saturday evening. Mark Hughes’ side have registered just one win in nine matches and Arsenal will be determined to keep the pressure on Liverpool and Manchester City in their bid for a top-four finish.
Run-in for Golden Boot contenders
| Player | Goals | Fixture | Fixture | Fixture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lukaku | 24 | WAT (h) | ARS (a) | |
| Kane | 21 | MUN (h) | LEI (a) | HUL (a) |
| Costa | 20 | WBA (a) | WAT (h) | SUN (h) |
| Sanchez | 20 | STK (a) | SUN (h) | EVE (h) |
| Aguero* | 18 | LEI (h) | WBA (h) | WAT (a) |
* Sergio Aguero is injured and doubtful for next match.
Back-to-back home matches against Sunderland and Everton will offer Sanchez further prospects of challenging for the scorers' prize.
Kane, last season's Golden Boot winner, will also be confident of closing the gap on Lukaku, although he will need to break Manchester United’s resistance in Spurs’ final Premier League match at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
Further opportunities will present themselves at Leicester City on Wednesday and at Hull City on the final day of the season.
Lukaku will need to make the most of his side’s two remaining matches. On Friday night he will take on a Watford side on a three-match losing streak and not yet mathematically safe from relegation at Goodison Park, where Everton have lost just twice all season.
The 23-year-old Belgian then has just one more chance to ensure he finishes as the division’s top goalscorer, at Arsenal on the final day.
See: Stats tables