EPL 2012/13 mid season award: Goal of the season

Ultimately, it’s the goals! It’s all that matters in a football match and what we pay to see in the game. The sublime touch, the ferocious pile driver or the lucky bounce off the back of the unlucky opposition; whichever way it might go in, it’s the final destination of the ball crossing that oft-elusive white line that we crave for. Having reached the mid-season stage of the Premier League, we take a look at the best goals of the season so far and rest it upon you to judge which one was the best among the lot.

HATEM BEN ARFA vs Aston Villa

Newcastle’s form of late has been down right atrocious, but the start to the season wasn’t so dour. With Ben Arfa in full flow, it was looking as if this would be his break-out season. This thunderous strike is just another reminder of the other-worldly skills that the enigmatic Frenchman possesses. With Newcastle trailing to an early Ciaran Clark goal, the Magpies were looking abject and seemingly found it difficult to get any foothold in the game.

With the game approaching the hour mark, it became literally cometh the hour, cometh the bomb! The Hatem-bomb. The Villa defense allowed the Frenchman to shift to his less favoured right foot, unknown to the dangers that lay ahead. With a whip of his right, Ben Arfa sent the ball rocketing to the upper right hand corner, with Guzan wishing he could fly.

ROBIN VAN PERSIE vs Fulham

We have been used to Van Persie shooting in screamers from 20-30 yards out, reminding goalkeepers how abject and trivial their position in the footballing hierarchy is. This time it was a display of the immense technical ability of the Dutchman. The ball played into the box wasn’t a particularly good one, but with Robin at the spot, the ball generally ends up in the back of the net and he duly obliged again.

Van Persie hit a waist-high ball first-time, a ball coming towards him at pace, and directed it towards the bottom corner of the far post with the deft touch of an artist. Artistry in football exists, no doubt. Just a timely reminder.

LUIS SUAREZ vs Newcastle

The goal was a perfect example to showcase all that the Uruguayan brings to the table. A delicious long ball from Jose Enrique indeed, but from the moment it left the Spaniard’s foot, it was all about Suarez. A brilliant burst of pace to accelerate and leave Coloccini in his wake, followed by a sublime receive on his chest. Composure is the thing Suarez gets criticized for, more often than not. But on this occasion, he didn’t lack any of it as his touch with the right boot dragged the ball and took Tim Krul totally out of the equation, and the left came around in time to slot the ball home. As calm and classy as you can get.

CAMERON JEROME vs Southampton

There are some moments that make you refresh your beliefs in all things divine and that our own logical brains can’t seem to find an answer for. Jerome’s strike was just another thing that makes us believe that he was anointed for this specific task. Tell him to hit that ball with the same ferocity and find the top corner as he did in this instance, and he may be able to repeat that feat once in 500 tries.

Brought on as a substitute against the Saints, trailing 3-2 and in danger of facing their first home loss of the season, Jerome hit a shot that will be remembered at the Britannia for ages.

LEIGHTON BAINES vs Newcastle

After a Baines mistake let in Cisse for the first goal in their game against Newcastle, the English left-back sought out a perfect answer to make up for his mistake at the back. Marouane Fellaini got himself a dubious foul as a result of Tiote heckling him for most parts of the afternoon and the rest was history.

The piece of history was written (not literally) by the left foot of Leighton Baines as the Everton defender did his best impersonation of Roberto Carlos, drilling a 30 yarder that left Tim Krul grasping at thin air. It did take a slight nick off Obertan, but no-one would doubt the ferocity of the absolute snorter.