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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Former Arsenal ace Ray Parlour has told talkSPORT that he rates Harry Kane as a better striker than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
What did he say?
Aubameyang has had a fantastic start to the campaign. In his first seven games in all competitions, he has seven goals, and has scored in all but one match that he has played.
Kane, too, has done well so far, scoring five in his first seven, and Parlour has said that he believes he is a step above the former Borussia Dortmund man.
Asked by Alan Brazil to pick between the England captain and the Gabon international, he said: “I’ll probably go Harry Kane.”
Expanding, later on, he added: “(Aubameyang) goes in and out of games, he’ll go missing for 10 minutes. But when he gets his chance, when he gets his moment in the box he takes it.”
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Is Kane better?
Is Kane really better than Aubameyang? Let’s have a look at the stats.
Without counting the spells at the start of their careers – there is little sense in comparing the Tottenham man’s goals for Leyton Orient and the Gabon international’s for Lille, for example – Kane has 169 goals in 260 games for Spurs, which have come at a rate of 0.65 per match. Aubameyang, meanwhile, has 230 in 382 games across his times at Saint-Etienne, Borussia Dortmund and now the Gunners. They have come at a rate of 0.6. One point to Kane.
What about in England’s top tier since the 30-year-old’s arrival, though? That statistic actually points in favour of Aubameyang, whose 48 in 72 come at a rate of 0.67 per match compared to his rival’s 0.64 (39 in 61).
Let’s move on to trophies. Of course, this has often been used as a way to prove the argument that the England captain is not world class, and it must be stated that his cabinet is bare other than three Premier League Golden Boots. Aubameyang’s record may not be much better, but it is better all the same. He himself has two Golden Boots, and four cups from his various clubs. He has also won the African Footballer of the Year award, in 2015, but bearing in mind Kane’s nationality, it is harsh to use that against him.
Internationally, Kane has shone at a World Cup, picking up the Golden Boot at last year’s edition in Russia. Again, though, as Gabon are unlikely to ever qualify for the tournament, it seems to be an unfair comparison.
The truth of the matter is there is very little, if anything at all, to separate the two.
Really, bearing in mind that Aubameyang has proven himself in three countries, compared to Kane’s one, you could even argue that the former comes out slightly on top.