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As we enter the business end of the season, the race for the Golden Boot and the Playmaker Award is tougher than ever. Currently, it's a three-way tie between Mohamed Salah, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sergio Aguero for the EPL Golden Boot 2019, as all the three have bagged 19 goals until now. Sadio Mane is second with 18 goals to his name, followed by Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling; both having scored 17 times this term.
On the other hand, Eden Hazard leads the way for the EPL Playmaker Award 2019, an award introduced since last year, the first winner being Kevin De Bruyne, for registering 15 assists last season. However, the injury concerns have surrounded him for a while and hence, his national teammate Eden Hazard leads the line for the highest assist provider with 13 assists, followed by Christian Eriksen and Ryan Fraser, who have 12 assists respectively.
The race for the title, the race for the top four, the race for the Golden Boot and the race for the Playmaker Award are all running hot right now. There's no team or player willing to give up on the chase, which makes the competition only more interesting. So, without further ado, let's take a look at who are the best forwards in the Premier League right now, taking into consideration their efficiency, impacts, consistency, and completeness.
#5 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
It had been a while since he last scored, and his performances started to go downhill since the start of this season. As usual, criticisms surrounded Salah throughout the season, and he was a subject to various trolls for his diving instincts and lousy misses. However, the Egyptian has replied to his critics in style, and Salah has regained his form just when his team needed it the most.
Despite having a "poor" season, Mohamed Salah has equalled Aubameyang and Aguero's tally of 19 goals, with the latter supposedly having the best season of his life with Manchester City. It's true that Mohamed Salah did not turn up for his team in the starting months of the 2018-19 season, but in Liverpool's last 5 games, the 26-year-old has had a hand in 4 goals.
With 19 goals and 7 assists in 35 EPL appearances, Mohamed Salah grabs the 5th spot on my article. With Liverpool being two points ahead of Man City, the fact that they have played a game more than Pep's side worries the Liverpool fans for sure. Klopp would expect his strikers to give it all until the very last minute of the season, especially Salah, as every single point counts.
#4 Sergio Aguero (Man City)
Despite the fact that Sergio Aguero has been goalless in his last three league games for Man City, I could not decide to go against adding him because the Argentine has contributed in other aspects except for scoring. Aguero has had a hand in 3 goals in his last 3 games for Man City, and has bagged 19 goals and 8 assists in nearly 4 lesser games than both Aubameyang and Salah.
Out of the three, Aubameyang has often come off from the bench in his 33 league appearances for Arsenal this season, with Aguero often taken off from the pitch for Gabriel Jesus. Whereas Mohamed Salah is only behind Van Dijk when it comes to playing the most minutes for Liverpool this term.
In spite of that, Aguero has been a key figure in Man City's chase for the title, with two remarkable hattricks against Arsenal and Chelsea to his name as well. The 30-year-old striker has immensely flourished under Guardiola's management, and the Man City legend looks to lift his third Premier League title in a blue shirt.
#3 Raheem Sterling (Man City)
The fact that Man City have outscored every team from the top five leagues speaks volumes about how influential Raheem Sterling has been for Pep's side across all competitions.
Just when the season was about to hit the final stages, Raheem Sterling found his goal scoring traits. He has arguably been the most consistent player for Manchester City this season, as he torments opposition defenders with his blistering pace, incredible dribbling skills, and a fantastic goalscoring knack.
No defender wants to face a player like Sterling, who on his worst day could still leave you on the ground, solely relying on his sheer pace. After leaving Liverpool in 2015, he has been able to unleash his true self and Raheem has improved significantly under Pep Guardiola.
The 24-year-old has scored 17 times in 30 games for Manchester City in the league, bagging 9 assists as well. Raheem has had four goals in his last four games and his performance for City this season has been nothing less than remarkable.
#2 Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Maurizio Sarri's first season with Chelsea has been a mixture of brilliant moments and terrible performances, ranging from a 2-0 victory against Man City at Stamford Bridge to atrocious defeats at the hands of Everton, Wolves, Bournemouth, etc. It has been an up and down season for Chelsea, but their star player Eden Hazard has often bailed his team out, whenever required.
Last night, Sarri's men had a brilliant chance to go third on the table, but they bottled the chance, grabbing only a point against Burnley at home, and that sums up their season. Eden Hazard, on the other hand, shows no sign of slowing down, as he was the first player to reach double digits in both goals and assists in the Premier League this season.
With 16 goals and 13 assists to his name, Eden has a chance to win both the Golden Boot and the Playmaker award, which cannot be completely ruled out, though it is highly unlikely. But this just goes to show how clinical and efficient Hazard has been for Sarri's men, as more than 50% of Chelsea's goals flow through him.
#1 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
Arsenal has been on a roller-coaster ride this season, but something they have never compromised on, this season, is goalscoring - thanks to the dynamic duo of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
Fun fact, Aubameyang has the most goals in the Premier League since he joined Arsenal back in the winter transfer market, last year. This just goes to show how important he has been for Arsenal, and the Gabonese striker might be on his way to win his first PL Golden Boot this season.
With 19 goals and 6 assists in 33 games, Aubameyang sits on the top of the goal-scoring charts, and the 29-year-old has bagged 3 goals and 1 assist in his last five league games, despite coming off from the bench twice, which makes him worthy of the 1st position on this article.
Sadio Mane and Ryan Fraser are two other names who took the league by storm this season, but the players mentioned in the article have been better than the latter two in recent weeks, so I decided against their inclusion.
Hope you enjoyed the article, and if you did, keep following my work!
