Aguero netted all four goals in this week's clinical demolition of Tottenham Hotspur, inviting serious scrutiny of his strike-rate in a City shirt. All told he has notched up an incredible tally of one goal every 108.3 minutes - a Premier League record. This compares very favourably with that of his nearest challenger, Thierry Henry, who managed a goal every 121.8 minutes for Arsenal, as well as with Ruud van Nistelrooy (128.2), Robin van Persie (136) and fellow City striker Edin Dzeko (137).
What is noticeable is that every player in the minutes-per-goal top ten plied their trade with a top Premier League side. This would seem to make sense as it's the top sides which score the most goals. In other words the efficiency of the goalscorer will depend to a very large extent of that of the team around him. Put Aguero into the shirt of a struggling club and the tale may well be a different one. But then could not the same be said for his rivals?
The other telling statistic is the number of minutes each contender has actually played. Aguero has competed for a total of 6,608 minutes in the Premier League, compared to 21,313 for Henry, 12,178 for van Nistelrooy and 18,497 for van Persie. It will be interesting to see whether his superb strike-rate can be maintained when he has spent longer on the pitch.
It cannot be denied that Aguero is rapidly establishing himself amongst some esteemed company. Many believe he has the potential to be the best of them all. Time will tell.
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