Harry Diamond
England’s top tier has played host to some incredible players since the inception of the Premier League and the ever increasing statistics available lead to weighted comparisons between the division’s greats.
The league’s leading goalscorers are widely recognised, as are the best creators, but which players have registered the most goals and assists per minute?
Here are the five players with the best minutes per goal involvement in Premier League history:
Robin van Persie – 102 minutes per goal involvement
Van Persie arrived in English football as a talented but tempestuous young forward, one who would develop into one of the Premier League’s finest footballers during memorable spells at both Arsenal and Manchester United.
The Dutchman spent eight seasons in north London and overcame a succession of injury problems to become the club’s attacking focal point, winning the PFA Player’s Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year and Premier League’s Golden Boot after a 30-goal haul in his final campaign at the Emirates.
Seeking silverware, however, he left the club to join rivals Manchester United in 2012, enjoying a superb debut season at Old Trafford to inspire Sir Alex Ferguson’s side to the league title, scoring 26 goals to once again finish as the division’s leading scorer.
The highest scoring Dutch player in the history of England’s top tier, Van Persie was a forward who combined flawless technique with a sense of unpredictability and a ruthless left foot.
He finished his Premier League career with 144 top-flight goals and 53 assists, averaging a goal involvement every 102 minutes.
Mohamed Salah – 92 minutes per goal involvement
Mohamed Salah has made a sensational impact since arriving at Liverpool almost three years ago, the winger having scored at an unprecedented rate since returning to the Premier League after an initial unsuccessful stint with Chelsea.
The Egyptian international enjoyed a stunning debut season on Merseyside to break a whole host of goalscoring records, scoring 32 times in the Premier League for Jurgen Klopp’s side – a record for a 38-game season.
His incredible year saw him scoop a PFA Player’s Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year double in addition to the league’s Golden Boot, before retaining the latter accolade alongside teammate Sadio Mane and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last season.
No player has ever scored more league goals for Liverpool in their first 100 Premier League appearances, whilst Salah has averaged almost a goal involvement per game throughout his career in English football, scoring or assisting every 92 minutes on average.
Gabriel Jesus – 92 minutes per goal involvement
Jesus ranks amongst the most efficient players in Premier League history despite spending large parts of his career in English football as a back-up to Sergio Aguero at Manchester City, the Brazilian a more than capable deputy for his fellow South American in recent seasons.
The forward has scored 37 goals and provided a further 14 assists in just 48 league starts since moving to the Etihad, averaging the joint-third best minutes per goal involvement in Premier League history.
The 23-year-old has won back-to-back league titles since making the move to England and will hope for further opportunities in the coming seasons, though he has already shown his ability to contribute with elite regularity for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Thierry Henry – 86 minutes per goal involvement
Arsenal‘s all-time record goalscorer and a player who dominated the Premier League at his peak, Henry won a record four Golden Boots during a glittering eight-year spell at the north London club.
The sixth-highest goalscorer in the division’s history, Henry regularly made top-flight defenders almost redundant – a unique blend of pace, power and perfect technique.
He would win two league titles and two FA Cups under Arsene Wenger – the latter triumph part of the Gunners’ famed unbeaten season in 2004 – whilst his performances delivered a host of individual accolades including being crowned FWA Footballer of the Year three times and as the PFA Player’s Player of the Year twice.
Henry finished his Premier League career with 175 goals and phenomenally averaged a goal involvement every 86 minutes, the forward also holding the record for the most assists in a single season having registered 20 during a sensational 2002/03 campaign.
Sergio Aguero – 85 minutes per goal involvement
The highest-scoring foreign player in the history of the Premier League, no player has ever scored with quite such ruthless efficiency as Manchester City’s record goalscorer Sergio Aguero.
The Argentina international possesses the best-goal-per-game ratio of any player to have scored a century of top-flight goals, whilst his 85 minutes per goal involvement is the best of any player in Premier League history.
Aguero’s list of accolades includes winning four league titles and the Premier League’s Golden Boot in 2015, whilst he is also one of just two players – alongside the aforementioned Henry – to score 20+ league goals in five consecutive league seasons.
Fourth overall in the all-time top scorers at present, it has been another fine individual campaign for the forward this season as he also set a new landmark for most Premier League hat-tricks with a treble against Aston Villa earlier this year.
He currently sits on 180 league goals and 46 assists since his arrival at the Etihad nine years ago.
Read – Ranking the 14 players to score over 100 goals and provide 50+ assists in the Premier League
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