If you want goals on opening weekend, Arsenal may be the team to watch.
That's because for the last two seasons in a row, the Gunners have opened with a seven-goal thriller.
After being on the wrong end of a 4-3 defeat by Liverpool in 2016/17, they edged Leicester City by the same scoreline in the season just gone, both times at Emirates Stadium.
Never have there been more goals in a Matchweek 1 fixture.
It remains to be seen whether under their new head coach, Unai Emery, the north Londoners will play in such an open fashion.
Emery's Paris Saint-Germain side did plunder 108 goals on their way to winning the Ligue 1 title last season, 23 more than their nearest challengers.
But Arsenal do face Manchester City on 12 August.
Pep Guardiola's side broke a Premier League record by scoring 106 goals on their way to the title last season and the Gunners will be hard-pressed to keep the defending champions at bay.
Highest-scoring opening-day matches
| Season | Match |
|---|---|
| 1994/95 | Crystal Palace 1-6 Liverpool |
| 1994/95 | Sheff Wednesday 3-4 Spurs |
| 1995/96 | Southampton 3-4 Nottingham Forest |
| 2009/10 | Everton 1-6 Arsenal |
| 2016/17 | Arsenal 3-4 Liverpool |
| 2017/18 | Arsenal 4-3 Leicester City |
Seven-goal thrillers
The seven goals shared in the highest opening-day fixtures fall behind the highest-scoring match in Premier League history.
That was Portsmouth 7-4 Reading, the only match to ever feature 11 goals.
Five other fixtures have had 10 goals, four of which involved either entertainers Arsenal or their north-London neighbours, Tottenham Hotspur.
Highest-scoring matches overall
| Season | Match |
|---|---|
| 2007/08 | Portsmouth 7-4 Reading |
| 2007/08 | Spurs 6-4 Reading |
| 2009/10 | Spurs 9-1 Wigan Ath |
| 2011/12 | Man Utd 8-2 Arsenal |
| 2012/13 | Arsenal 7-3 Newcastle |
| 2012/13 | West Brom 5-5 Man Utd |
Also in this series
Part 1: The impossible job: Compiling the fixture list
Part 2: How the Premier League fixture list is compiled
Part 3: Can 2018/19 live up to last season's opening salvo?
Part 5: Who can match Ravanelli's dream debut?
Part 6: Can debutant managers start with a bang?
Part 7: Man Utd kings of the opening weekend
Part 8: Aguero eyes record for opening weekends
Part 9: Mourinho points the way for managers on opening day