Sergio Aguero v Thierry Henry: A statistical comparison of the Premier League’s most lethal striking duo

Sergio Aguero has been in red-hot form for Manchester City lately, scoring seven goals in the last four matches in all competitions. The Argentinian has been making headlines week-in week-out due to the nature of records he has continued to break on a consistent basis. His remarkable treble at Villa Park meant that he has now scored more hat-tricks (12) than anyone else in Premier League history.

He has now also cemented himself as the league’s highest-scoring foreign player and its fourth highest of all time, trailing only Andy Cole, Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer. But Aguero’s record-breaking goals have yet again raised the million-dollar question. How does he compare with the legendary Thierry Henry?

The double against Crystal Palace means that Aguero now has 179 Premier League goals to his name, four more than Henry’s 175. The City forward managed that tally in 256 league games whereas the former Arsenal front-man took a total of 258 matches to score his mountain of goals. But it is important to remember that the Frenchman was often deployed as a wide player by Arsene Wenger.

Arsene Wenger played a huge role in transforming Thierry Henry into a lethal goalscorer

This is probably why Henry has 74 assists in his locker, a significant amount more than Aguero, who has directly provided for his teammates only 46 times. Comparing the strikers on the basis of the minutes-per-goal ratio, however, Aguero again comes out on top with a goal every 105 minutes, compared to Henry’s 122.

In terms of how the lethal duo have scored their goals over the years, it is observed that both heavily favour their preferred right foot. Aguero has ruffled the net 126 times using his right foot, which includes that unthinkable title-clinching winner against Queens Park Rangers in the dying minutes of the 2011/12 season. Henry, however, has scored 10 more goals with his right foot. But “El Kun” is also remarkably strong on his left side, scoring 33 compared to Henry’s 31. Despite the significant height difference, the City talisman has 17 headed goals whilst the 1998 World Cup winner only has 6.

However, Henry loved scoring from outside-the-box, as he has 29 long-rangers to his name compared to Aguero’s 21. The Argentine forward has held his nerve from the spot to score 26 penalties as opposed to Henry’s 23.

Thierry Henry has been rewarded with the Golden Boot award four times in his Premier League career but Aguero has only held the prize once at the end of the 2014/15 season. Interestingly, both of them have six 20-plus goal-hauls in the league, however, Aguero could make it seven this term after having already notched in 15 goals.

The Manchester City striker won his fourth Premier League trophy last May

Despite featuring for over ten seasons for the North London giants, the former Gunner only managed to win the Premier League twice, although he played a crucial role in their historical 2003/04 Invincible campaign where they went the entire league season undefeated. Aguero, however, has led his Manchester City side to Premier League glory on four occasions, most recently the back-to-back title-win last year.

Fans and pundits have constantly locked horns debating over who has been the better Premier League striker or the better foreign import to the English top-flight, however, both Sergio Aguero and Thierry Henry should be revered and respected for what they have done for the game and how they will go down in history as one of the most incredible strikers of all time.