The top 10 strikers of the Premier League era

2. Alan Shearer- Clubs: Blackburn, Newcastle- Goals: 260

Alan Shearer is still the Premier League’s top marksman by a long distance. His £3.3million move to Blackburn from Southampton in the summer of 1992 was a British record at that time.

In his second season at Ewood Park, Shearer, the archetypical No.9 striker, scored 31 league goals as Blackburn finished 2nd in the table to Manchester United.

The following campaign, however, he became a Premier League winner, striking up a fruitful partnership with Chris Sutton. Shearer’s 34 goals also earned him the PFA and Premier League Player of the Year awards. Another 30 plus goals were plundered in 1995/96, and after a fine European Championship on home soil, in which he finished top goalscorer as England reached the semi-finals, Shearer joined his home town club Newcastle United for a world record £15m. The goals continued to fly in for Shearer, but Newcastle fell just short of the title; United going on to retain their trophy. In 1997, Barcelona, managed by future Toon manager Sir Bobby Robson, failed in a bid to take the clinical striker to the Nou Camp. Over the following seasons, Shearer continued to score on a consistent basis, yet Newcastle were no closer to winning the league title. In 2001/02, Shearer hit more than 20 goals in a season for the 6th time in the Premier League.In 2006, Shearer retired from the game. He featured in the team of the season on 6 occasions, as well as winning the Golden Boot 4 times. His Premier League goals tally concluded at a record 260.

1. Thierry Henry- Club: Arsenal- Goals: 175

After a modest spell at Juventus playing out of position on the wing, Thierry Henry was signed by Arsene Wenger for Arsenal in August 1999, for a fee of £11 million. It proved to be fantastic business, as Henry went on to establish himself as one of the best players in the world during his 8 year spell in North London. Wenger immediately moved Henry to a more natural striker’s role, and the Frenchman repaid his manager’s faith with 17 league goals in a fine debut season, a tally he matched the following campaign.

Wenger had developed Arsenal into an attractive, easy on the eye outfit, and Henry was the fulcrum of his attack. He formed a fine partnership with Dennis Bergkamp, and in 2001/02, he won the Golden Boot, scoring 24 times as Arsenal won the League and Cup double, Henry’s first league title in England.

In 2002/03, Henry scored 24 goals and made 23 assists, also picking up the PFA Player of the Year award. He netted one of the finest goals ever seen in the Premier League, against Tottenham at Highbury.

Picking up the ball inside his own half, he ran unchallenged to beat a number of Spurs players before finishing clinically with his left foot. However, the Gunners were dramatically pipped to the trophy by Manchester United.

The next season, though, the league title was reclaimed in style. Arsenal went through the entire season unbeaten, with Henry netting 30 league goals to win the Golden Boot and the Player of the Year awards once more.

Henry continued to score heavily, with more than 50 league goals in the next two seasons. But in the summer of 2007, he decided to leave Arsenal to join Spanish giants Barcelona. His time at the Nou Camp was a success, by winning a host of domestic and European trophies.

In 2010, Henry became the second big name player, after David Beckham, to join the American MLS League, but in January 2012, he returned to Arsenal on a month’s loan, scoring a stoppage time winner at Sunderland.

Blessed with pace, vision and clinical finishing, he was the key exponent of Arsenal’s attractive football. Some of his goals, such as the aforementioned one against Spurs, and two 30 yard strikes against United, were breathtaking.

He made the team of the season on 6 successive occasions, as well as winning the Golden Boot 4 times, 3 in a row between 2003-2006. He was simply a joy to watch. The greatest striker to ever play in the Premier League!

Players that just missed out

If this article was written in 2010, then Fernando Torres, by way of the immediate, explosive impact he made in the Premier League, would have been a shoe-in for the top 10.

The trio of Ian Wright, Teddy Sheringham and Les Ferdinand were also very close, and Robin Van Persie, despite a superb 2011/12, still has a way to go to be regarded as one of the league’s greats.