The importance of Arsenal's welcome of Leicester in the Golden Boot race

Arsenal's welcome of Leicester is a crunch clash in the race for Europe. The downturn in form has seen the Foxes slip to just two points above Chelsea in fourth, while a fine 2-0 win over Wolves has moved the Gunners to within six points of Manchester United in fifth. Time may be running out for Arsenal to secure a Champions League finish, but victory on home turf would give them as good a chance as any at guaranteeing them a spot in Europe's elite club competition next term. 

From a personel perspective, too, there is plenty riding on this match at the Emirates. Leading the Premier League's goalscoring charts is Jamie Vardy, who is looking to land the Golden Boot for the first time in his career. Having previously come so close, this season is a good a time as any to secure the individual gong. 

Prior to Tuesday's meeting in London, Vardy has 21 goals to his name, two more than his closest competitor, Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabon international shared the award with Liverpool pair Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah last season, but Aubmeyang will be hopeful of bettering his 22-goal haul last term in the remaining five matches of the season. 

In regards to the race for the Golden Boot, the midweek fixture in the capital is massive. Having been forced to share the gong last season, Aubameyang will want to win the award outright as a possible sign off at Arsenal. Vardy, meanwhile, has scored 20 or more goals in three of his last five Premier League seasons now, but missed out to Mohamed Salah in 2017/18 and and Harry Kane in 2015/16. Last season, too, Vardy came close, scoring 18 league goals. 

The Premier League title made up for the latter, you'd have to think, and while Champions League qualification is certainly playing its part in Vardy's quest for personal glory, it's the Golden Boot that he undoubtedly craves. That being said, this isn't a two-horse race by any stretch. 

Vardy, of course, holds the upper hand for now given his two-goal cushion and that his conversion rate of 30.4% is better than any of the 103 players to muster 25 or more shots in the Premier League this season. Aubameyang, at 23.2%, boasts the fourth best using the same parameters, so if the chances are created for Vardy, then he'll fancy chances of winning this race. 

Sitting one place in the conversion rate standings and one goal behind Aubameyang is Danny Ings. The Southampton star has excelled on the south coast this season, particularly post-lockdown, where he has three goals to his name from four outings. With a conversion rate of 23.1%, Ings will be hopeful of making upthe three-goal gap to sit atop the scoring charts come the close of play later this month, particularly if Vardy and Aubameyang draw blanks on Tuesday. 

Saints have a testing run in as they take on Everton and Manchester United this week, but south coast clashes with Brighton and Bournemouth between now and the campaign coming to an end should be a boost for Ings as he seeks the Golden Boot. Sergio Aguero on 16 goals would have fancied his chances of landing the award had he not sustained a knee injury last month that curtailed his campaign, while Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah (17 goals) and Sadio Mane (16 goals) shouldn't be counted out just yet. 

The Reds may have the Premier League sewn up, yet Jurgen Klopp is unlikely to allow the intensity to drop as Liverpool aim to write their name into the history books, starting with the trip to Brighton this week. This benefits last season's joint-Golden Boot winners as they, too, seek to overhaul Vardy, Aubameyang and Ings above them in the top scorer standings. 

The first port of call, though, is Arsenal's welcome of Leicester on Tuesday night and a game that may prove decisive in the Golden Boot race. Vardy's favourite Premier League opponents are Arsenal, whom he has scored nine goals against, while Aubameyang has scored three goals in four league meetings with the Foxes, two of which came in this match last season. In that battle for European action, this head-to-head promises to be a nice sub-narrative.