No player is more focused on the art of goalscoring than Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema who last weekend equalled the record for goals scored in the Barclays Women’s Super League and could well go on to set levels that will be hard for other players to reach. She does not need to blow her own trumpet as the data speaks for itself.
The Dutch international has scored 49 goals in 49 FA WSL games and with a brace last weekend surpassed Ellen White’s (48) and equalled Nikita Parris’ (49) goal tallies. This weekend, Miedema is looking to break the record in the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.
Highest All-time Goalscorers FA WSL
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | V. Miedema | 49 |
| 1 | N. Parris | 49 |
| 3 | E. White | 48 |
| 4 | J. Nobbs | 44 |
| 5 | B. England | 42 |
Miedema has scored at a rate of a goal per game in the competition which outstrips all her rivals. In fact, she scores at almost twice the rate of Parris, who she matched in terms of number scored last week.
None of her 49 goals have come from the penalty spot technically. The only penalty she has taken in the competition thus far was saved, but her irritation with missing was swiftly assuaged as she calmly stroked home the rebound.
Miedema is more than a goalscorer though, setting up more goals (21) for team-mates than any other player in the FAWSL since her debut in 2017.
And in terms of minutes per assist, she is ranked sixth in that time.
Miedema is almost always involved when Arsenal pose a threat to opposition defences. Since the start of last season, she has been involved in the joint-most sequences leading to a shot of any player in the league and also the most sequences leading to a goal.
Open Play Sequence Involvement Ending in a Shot:
| Rank | Player | Team | Open play sequence ending in a shot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miedema | Arsenal Women | 129 |
| 1 | England | Chelsea Women | 129 |
| 3 | Weir | Manchester City Women | 116 |
| 3 | Furness | Liverpool Women | 116 |
| 5 | Ji So-Yun | Chelsea Women | 111 |
Open Play Sequence Involvement Ending in a Goal:
| Rank | Player | Team | Open play sequence ending in a goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miedema | Arsenal Women | 36 |
| 2 | Nobbs | Arsenal Women | 23 |
| 3 | Weiß | Arsenal Women | 20 |
| 4 | England | Chelsea Women | 19 |
| 5 | Mead | Arsenal Women | 17 |
This season, Miedema has been at the heart of Arsenal’s 100% start to the league campaign, scoring in all four matches and racking up seven goals. Miedema is more often than not the player lurking in the penalty area to finish off her team-mates good build up play. The Arsenal forward has been involved in the second-highest number of unique shot-ending sequences in open play where the player’s only involvement was that they took the shot.
Shot-Only Sequence Involvement:
| Rank | Player | Team | Shot Only Involvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | Chelsea Women | 75 |
| 2 | Miedema | Arsenal Women | 71 |
| 3 | Furness | Liverpool Women | 60 |
| 4 | Williams | Reading Women | 47 |
| 5 | Kelly | Everton Women | 45 |
Since she came into the league, Vivianne Miedema has undoubtedly been the greatest attacking threat in the competition.
If Arsenal are to succeed, much depends on their attacking prowess and when it comes to the FA WSL, if you want to be the best and you want to beat the rest, Miedema’s what you need.
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