SERGIO AGUERO overtook Thierry Henry to become the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer amongst foreign players at the weekend.
The Argentine icon, 31, scored a hat-trick as Manchester City thumped Aston Villa 6-1 as he made it 177 goals in the top-flight.
Who is the bigger Premier League legend… Aguero or Henry?
Henry – a part of Arsenal’s famous 2003-04 “Invincibles” manager 175 goals in his illustrious career.
But which star is best? Martin Lipton and Mark Irwin take a look, each arguing a different legend…
SERGIO AGUERO, says Martin Lipton
FINISHING
SERGIO AGUERO’S stats tell you all you need to know.
Goals, goals, goals — and at a strike-rate that only Thierry Henry and Harry Kane can match.
The Argentine is a ruthless predator who will often opt for power more than placement.
Aguero frequently smashes rising, angled strikes with such speed that the goalkeeper cannot react until the ball is past him.
The Argentine does not score many that make you shake your head in disbelief. He will rarely run through a defence from halfway, jink and shimmy.
What he does is apply the finishing touch — demonstrating a clear-headed and ice-cool calmness amid the madness that very few possess.
TEAMWORK
PEP GUARDIOLA had a few early doubts about Aguero’s overall fitness and willingness to work within his demanding parameters.
But Aguero consigned Gabriel Jesus to the status of understudy because he answered all those questions.
And he just wants to be the man with the final touch.
City, though, score more close-range goals than anybody, the consequence of the way they look to slice through and get in behind defences.
Livewire Aguero plays his part in that team ethic, even if he is more likely to provide the ‘pre-assist’ pass than the one that leads to a goal.
Sergio Aguero will forever be remembered for his goal as Man City won their first-ever Premier League titleCredit: EPA
IMPACT
CITY trophies before Aguero joined the club — ten. City trophies since Aguero joined the club — nine. That is his impact for you. Nine in as many seasons.
While Vincent Kompany was the heartbeat of the new City and David Silva the soul, Aguero has been the cutting edge — the assassin.
Managers have come and gone since he arrived from Atletico Madrid. But Aguero has been a constant, a continual danger and threat to opponents, with a desire to score and win that is infectious.
When they put up the first statues outside the Etihad, the Argentine will definitely feature.
X FACTOR
One moment. One run. One goal. To banish all the ghosts, exorcise the blackness that was ready to engulf City all over again. “Aguerooooooo!”
Martin Tyler’s Sky Sports commentary summed up the greatest single act in Premier League history.
The title won with the last goal of the entire season — virtually the last kick — just as Roberto Mancini and Co were on the brink of meltdown.
That goal against QPR in 2012 would have been enough in itself to ensure City legend status. But he has never relented in his ambition to repeat that victory dance.
THIERRY HENRY, says Mark Irwin
FINISHING
THIERRY HENRY did not score tap-ins and very rarely scored headers. If he did, he probably would have finished his time at Arsenal with close to 300 Premier League goals.
Almost every one of his goals was a thing of beauty, stroked into the net with a draughtsman’s precision to leave goalkeepers helpless and supporters mesmerised.
Left or right foot, he finished unerringly from any range and angle — often at the end of an electric burst of pace that took him through a crowd of defenders.
Unlike the majority of prolific scorers, Henry did most of his best work outside the penalty area, preferring to work the left-hand channel before cutting in.
TEAMWORK
HENRY loved to score but it was not his obsession. He was more excited by the beauty of goals, than by their quantity.
During eight years at Arsenal he had eight strike partners — Dennis Bergkamp, Kanu, Sylvain Wiltord, Francis Jeffers, Jeremie Aliadiere, Robin van Persie, Jose Antonio Reyes and Emmanuel Adebayor — and helped them all to get on the scoresheet.
He loved the kudos that went with being the Gunners’ main man, while his demanding personality often overshadowed team-mates.
But he also provided more than 100 Arsenal assists and worked harder than any other player on the pitch to make Arsene Wenger’s team such an irresistible force.
Thierry Henry was a huge part of Arsenal’s famous ‘Invincibles’Credit: PA:Press Association
IMPACT
ARSENAL had already been transformed into a Premier League superpower before Henry arrived from Juventus in an £11million deal to replace Nicolas Anelka in 1999.
But there is no doubt the Frenchman took the Gunners to another level as they captured the imagination of the football world.
Inspired by Henry, Arsenal became the only team in Prem history to go an entire season unbeaten in 2003-04 — one of two titles he won along with two FA Cup winners’ medals.
He was instrumental in Arsenal reaching their only Champions League final in 2006, scoring winning goals against Real Madrid and Juventus along the way.
And Henry won Footballer of the Year three times, PFA Player of the Year twice and was a four-time recipient of the Golden Boot.
X FACTOR
ERIC CANTONA aside, it is hard to think of any other player in Premier League history who could change the course of a match with the sheer force of his personality.
Henry scored so many incredible goals in so many big games that you would be hard pressed to name his top ten.
Remember the time he ran through the entire Spurs team, or that over-the-shoulder volley against Manchester United? How about the audacious backheel against Charlton and the stunning solo goal to rip Liverpool apart?
His passion made him quite a high-maintenance figure and he would confront reporters if he felt he had been unfairly criticised.
Yet unlike Arsenal’s current stars, Henry always took responsibility for results and was never short of a post-match quote.
Aguero will score more goals than a legend
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
