Having won the Premier League Golden Boot more than any other player in history, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry knows a thing or two about being a great scorer. So it was fascinating to hear his recent take on who, exactly, is the best striker in the Premier League.
In a column for SunSport, Henry pegged Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero as the Premier League’s best striker – regardless of whether the Argentine wins the Golden Boot for his second year in a row.
Arsenal’s all-time leading scorer said that the top three strikers in the league are Aguero (24 goals), Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane (25 goals) and Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy (24 goals) and that the race for the 2015-16 Golden Boot will likely come down to the final day. But Henry singled out Aguero for his superior goal/match ratio – which is far better than Kane, Vardy or anyone else in the Premier League.
“For me, Aguero is the best striker in the Premier League and his ratio of goals to games is better than anyone else’s,” Henry wrote.
Aguero was snubbed from the PFA Team of the Year list for the fifth year in a row despite barely trailing Kane and Vardy in the goal tally.
Henry went on to point out the strong similarities between the trio of BPL strikers and relentless attacking styles.
“…all three contenders have had an amazing season and the attribute they all share is a willingness to run into channels,” he explained.
“That’s where they stretch defences and isolate the centre-half in a position he doesn’t want to be in.
“None of this year’s top scorers are what I would describe as a natural target man, someone who plays with his back to goal, holds the ball up for the runners and feeds off high crosses into the box.
“But they are equally effective inside or outside of the penalty area and score quite a lot of their goals from distance because they are always looking to shoot on sight with either foot.”
While Henry’s analysis was certainly well thought out and sensible, it is interesting how the Arsenal legend found a rationale to avoid crediting a Tottenham Hotspur player as the Premier League’s best striker.
An honest analysis? Or perhaps a subtle dig at his former London rivals?
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