Arsene Wenger says his forwards can each score close to 20 goals this season - but they need trust and patience.

Over the past five years statistics show that an average of just eight players in Europe’s top five leagues scored 20 or more goals per season, and Wenger believes he already has the quality within his team.

“We will have to spread [the goals] through the squad,” he said. “I think Giroud, Walcott and Alexis can get around 20 goals without any problem.

"Sometimes you have to trust your players and play them. Then they get there" Arsene Wenger

“Sometimes you have to trust your players and play them. Then they get there. People always want the absolute certainty that they will be absolutely successful. It is not like that.

“I played Anelka and people asked me, ‘Why did you not buy anybody?’ and Thierry Henry the same. I said, ‘Let him play, maybe he will score’.

“Football is a bit like that. It is not a science that everybody masters and where you can absolutely predict how many goals everybody will get.

ADVERT

“I would rather have Ramsey [score] 15, Ozil 15, Cazorla 10. Otherwise, if you have only one player who scores, when he is injured you don’t know who will score.”

* With thanks to @Orbinho for the statistics on Europe's top goalscorers