Arsenal would be top of the Premier League table if striking the upright counted as a goal

Everyone loves this season’s success story — Leicester topping the Premier League table.

Not only that, it looks like they are going to all the way, now seven points clear of Tottenham and a whopping 11 points ahead of Arsenal.

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But imagine an alternate universe — if we’re not already in it, after all Claudio Ranieri’s Foxes are top of the league — where hitting the woodwork counts as a goal.

How would the English top flight look if thundering a shot into the post or crossbar equalled one goal?

Well, for starters, Leicester would NOT be top of the table. Instead, Arsenal would be top of the league on goal difference, with the Foxes one spot back.

Ranieri and Co would have lost FIVE rather than three, winning only 16 rather than their real-life 20.

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Meanwhile the Gunners, despite losing eight games would be top of the table with 18 wins and five draws.

It’s great news for West Ham fans however, as the Irons are sitting in third spot with 57 points, while Manchester City round off the Champions League spots on 56.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool sit fifth while Tottenham — second in real life — would be way back in sixth on just 52 points.

Manchester United, Everton, Southampton and Stoke round up the top ten, but what’s the story at the foot of the table?

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Well, not a lot’s changed really — with Aston Villa still dead last, this time with only 12 points — while Newcastle and Sunderland fill out the other spots.

Norwich still sit just evade the perilous clutches of the relegation zone while one of the major changes in the bottom half sees Crystal Palace ‘high-flying’ in 13th, rather than 16th.

But let’s be honest, the major story here involves Leicester — as do most things in the Premier League this year.

And I’m sure I speak for the majority of the nation when I say I’m glad hitting the woodwork still counts for nothing more than a fleeting moment of excitement...