Analysis of shot statistics released this month puts Alexandre Lacazette as the second-best finisher in Europe, behind only Lionel Messi.

BarcaNumbers put together a very in-depth look at individuals’ finishing in Europe’s top five leagues over the last decade or so. The analysis was based mostly on three different factors: Shots, the distance of those shots from the goal and, of course, goals.

It’s worth reading through the entire methodology yourself, and I’m not going to do it a disservice by trying to replicate it here.

However, I do want to point out that this is purely an analysis of finishing, not goalscoring. Some players score more goals because they take many more shots, and that’s not a bad thing. This is just about how efficient different players are at scoring the opportunities that do fall their way.

It should be interesting for Arsenal fans to note that Alexandre Lacazette comes out second from the top overall:

Most of us know by now how deadly the Frenchman can be when he does get an opportunity to shoot. His finishes against Liverpool, Cardiff and Everton this season were particularly impressive, and when you give him space on his right foot he rarely fails to deliver.

However, even if this isn’t new information, it’s good to see him ranking so highly on a list like this all the same. Particularly since the analysis was done by a Barcelona fan, with no real reason to show any bias towards the Arsenal forward.

Let’s hope the striker can keep scoring and add to his total of eight goals and five assists this season on Wednesday.