With some sharp shooters already stamping their authority in Europe this season, WhoScored has undergone an analysis of individuals, and indeed league averages that stand out when it comes to shooting stats for the most prolific players for shots on target.
Of the top 5 players in terms of total shots on target in each of Europe's top 5 leagues, Mario Gomez has the best shot accuracy with 62.5%. He just pips Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, with the Schalke-man hitting the target with 61.4% of his shots, followed by Atletico Madrid's Falcao (56.4%) and Tottenham's Emmanuel Adebayor (56%).
However, when hitting the target, Huntelaar is in fact more deadly than Bundesliga top scorer Gomez. With 14 goals to his name from 27 shots on target he scores with over half of his shots that test the keeper (51.9%) compared to the German international's 42.9% success rate. Only one other of the top 5 players for shots on target in each of Europe's top 5 leagues betters the Dutchman's record, and that is Atalanta's German Denis.
Having scored 10 goals from just 38 shots, with 18 on target, he registers a goal over 55% of the time that he finds his range. The story is very different for a couple of the Premier League's most prolific shooters, with Luis Suarez's 19.2% conversion rate of 26 shots on target only beating Fulham's Clint Dempsey, whose efforts to test the keeper have been kept out 84% of the time.
When analysing the individual leagues in terms of the average figures of the top 5 players in that division for shots on target, England's top-flight throws up some interesting figures. The Premier League leaders for shots on target average a total of 62.6 shots between them and with 28.4 on target, both lead the way of Europe's top 5. However, the average chance conversion of shots on target of the 5 Premier League representatives is the lowest (30.3%).
This could suggest a number of things; including a lack of clinical finishing in front of goal or that the standard of keepers in the division is very high. The latter assumption would certainly be backed up by a number of standout number 1s thus far, with the likes of Tim Krul and Michel Vorm particularly impressive up to now. In comparison, the lethal finishing in Germany's Bundesliga has left little chance for the keepers in the league.
The average chance conversion rate of the top 5 in terms of shots on target in Germany stands at an excellent 44.6%. Marco Reus, Robert Lewandowski, Mario Gomez and Klass-Jan Huntelaar all convert over 40% of their shots on target - a feat only replicated by one of the top 5 in England in the same regard (Robin van Persie - 45.4%). The Bundesliga elite's shot accuracy also leads the way, hitting the target with over 50% of their overall efforts on average - an area in which the Serie A representatives falter somewhat.
With the top 5 players for shots on target in Italy averaging 51.6 total shots, they test the keeper with just 20 on average (38.8%). The figure is a full 6.6% down on the fourth best shot accuracy average, which is 45.4% in the Premier League.
Another noticeable feature when it comes to total shots is that France's Ligue 1 is significantly down on the rest of Europe's top divisions. With 3.8 shots per game, leading scorer Olivier Giroud has had the most attempts, though this figure only ranks 13th across Europe in terms of Player Statistics. The newly capped France international leads to way of only 5 Ligue 1 players to make the top 40 in Europe for shots per game.
It is also interesting that of the 25 players analysed across the divisions, Cristiano Ronaldo – joint top scorer in Europe with 17 goals – ranks 22nd for shot accuracy with just 39.4%, having attempted more efforts at goal than any other player (94). A telling comparison has seen the Madrid-man hit the target just twice more over the campaign than Mario Gomez, despite taking 38 more shots.
