Premier League stats for the calendar year 2015 - Which were the best clubs and players?

Arsenal and Manchester City were the two best teams in the calendar year 2015With 2015 done and dusted, many teams in the Premier League saw their fortunes change over the course of 10 gruelling months either side of a summer break. So what if we look at the form of the 17 teams who played in the Premier League in the calendar year 2015? Who tops the 2015 table? And which players were the best performers of the year 2015?We take a look!

#1 EPL Table for 2015

Arsenal were the best team in 2015 behind the perfromance of Alexis Sanchez Mesut Ozil

Chelsea won the 2014/15 title at a canter but most of the hard work was done before the turn of the year with the second half of the season just a matter of hanging on to the lead and not allowing their opponents to join in the chase.

But come the 2015/16 season and the Blues fell away right from the start of the campaign as Jose Mourinho tasted defeat after defeat against a number of clubs up and down the table. A ninth defeat against Leicester City managed by former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri saw Mourinho lose his job and Guus Hiddink take over as interim boss yet again.

Leicester City’s turnaround has been the talk of the year. The Foxes were at the bottom of the table in December 2014. They managed to briefly top the table in December 2015 before eventually finishing the year in second place, albeit on goal difference.

#OnThisDay one year ago - here's how the #BPL looked... pic.twitter.com/lJysRD1hoE

— Premier League (@premierleague) January 1, 2016

They were dead last for 19 game weeks before a remarkable end-of-season turnaround saw them climb out of the relegation zone and finish a commendable 14th last season. Under Ranieri, they scored in every game except the last two and lost only twice with Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez (28 goals and 10 assists combined) leading the charge.

Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy – the men behind Leicester City’s amazing turnaround

But the most consistent team was Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal side who claimed a phenomenal 81 points from 38 games last year. The Gunners were one of the best sides, especially when playing away, winning crucial matches against the likes of Manchester City (twice), Manchester United and Liverpool. They were also only one of two teams to beat Leicester City this season.

However, Manuel Pellegrini’s men scored the most goals (79) while struggling Aston Villa conceded the most (69).

POS	TEAM	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1	Arsenal	38	25	6	7	70	31	39	81
2	Manchester City	38	22	6	10	79	41	38	72
3	Tottenham	38	19	11	7	68	43	25	68
4	Leicester	38	19	10	9	66	49	17	67
5	Manchester United	38	18	10	10	51	34	17	64
6	Liverpool	38	18	10	10	47	46	1	64
7	Crystal Palace	38	19	6	13	50	37	13	63
8	Chelsea	38	17	10	11	55	47	8	61
9	Stoke	38	16	10	12	47	42	5	58
10	Everton	38	13	13	12	54	47	7	52
11	Southampton	38	14	9	14	47	39	8	51
12	West Brom	38	13	11	14	38	47	-9	50
13	Swansea	38	12	11	15	38	50	-12	47
14	West Ham	38	10	15	13	42	47	-5	45
15	Newcastle	38	7	9	22	40	63	-23	30
16	Sunderland	38	7	9	22	27	46	-19	30
17	Aston Villa	38	6	7	25	35	69	-34	25

#2 Most goals in 2015

Harry Kane was the EPL’s top goalscorer in 2015

Among the top goalscorers, there is only one player who has scored more than 20 goals last year – Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane. The 22-year-old came into his own last season and benched the likes of Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor and terrorised Premier League defences with his runs and shot accuracy.

With 24 goals last year, there is no reason why he shouldn’t lead the line for England in Euro 2016, especially with Wayne Rooney struggling at Manchester United.

Kane was followed by three strikers with 19 goals each – Sergio Aguero of Manchester City, Olivier Giroud of Arsenal and Romelu Lukaku of Everton. Jamie Vardy’s scintillating run of form in the second half of 2015 saw him finish with 18 goals in the calendar year.

#	PLAYER	CLUB	GOALS
1	Harry Kane	Tottenham	24
2	Sergio Aguero	Man City	19
	Olivier Giroud	Arsenal	19
	Romelu Lukaku	Everton	19
5	Jamie Vardy	Leicester City	18

#3 Most assists in 2015

Mesut Ozil has the most assists in the EPL in 2015

No prizes for guessing who topped the assists chart. Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has been the talk of the league this season with his 16 assists so far. To put that in perspective, the EPL record is 20 in a season by ex-Arsenal striker Thierry Henry.

Ozil is only four behind that benchmark with half a season to go! Having grabbed five between January and May 2015, he is the only player with more than 20 assists – a new record for a calendar year.

Manchester City’s David Silva is second with 15 assists. He is followed by three midfielders with 11 assists each – Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla, Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas and Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy.

#	PLAYER	CLUB	ASSISTS
1	Mesut Ozil	Arsenal	21
2	David Silva	Man City	15
3	Santi Cazorla	Arsenal	11
	Cesc Fabregas	Chelsea	11
	Jamie Vardy	Leicester City	11

Pass master Mesut Ozil will continue his #BPL record chase on Saturday... #ARSNEW pic.twitter.com/Nt5AWOdKfV

— Premier League (@premierleague) January 2, 2016

#4 Most Clean Sheets in 2015

Simon Mignolet had the most clean sheets for 2015 in the EPL

Liverpool’s Simon Mignolet kept the most clean sheets, keeping out the opposition a total of 16 times. He is closely followed by Manchester City’s Joe Hart on 15 while West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Boaz Myhill had 12 in total.

David De Gea, who almost left Manchester United for Real Madrid, has 11 the same as Petr Cech who made the switch from Chelsea to Arsenal in 2015.

#	PLAYER	CLUB	CLEAN SHEETS
1	Simon Mignolet	Liverpool	16
2	Joe Hart	Man City	15
3	Boaz Myhill	West Brom	12
4	David De Gea	Man Utd	11
	Petr Cech	Chelsea/Arsenal	11