Ranking the 10 best forwards in the Premier League

With the 2016-17 Premier League season well underway, theScore is ranking the best players on offer at various positions on the pitch so far.

In the final installment of the series, we look at the men who bang in the goals and get all the attention.

10. Christian Benteke - Crystal Palace

Out of form and fashion at Liverpool, Belgian international Christian Benteke made the south London switch to Crystal Palace in the summer, and the 25-year-old is again deservedly the main man.

In 10 matches this season, Benteke has scored four times and given the Eagles something they were enormously desperate for last year: a traditional striker.

The Premier League's standard-bearer for aerial duels, Benteke's total of 19 headed goals since 2012-13 is bettered only by the player two notches above him on this list.

9. Daniel Sturridge - Liverpool

Since a career-best output of 21 league goals in 2013-14 playing alongside Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge's Liverpool career has been more notable for a slew of ailments than his proficiency in front of goal.

With just 35 Premier League appearances over the last three campaigns, it's easy to forget how good a finisher the 27-year-old Manchester City academy product is.

Blessed with pace and technique, Sturridge's ability to find channels and stretch defences is an asset for Jurgen Klopp and Co. - especially considering how short the bench is at Anfield and the fact Sadio Mane will be away for a month with Senegal at the African Cup of Nations.

8. Olivier Giroud - Arsenal

Rarely appreciated and often maligned, Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud scored a massive goal late to share the spoils in Saturday's visit to Manchester United. The Ligue 1 winner with Montpellier has the most headed goals in the Premier League since 2012-13 with 21 (two better than Benteke).

Playing second fiddle to Alexis Sanchez this season, Giroud has scored four goals - three of those coming off the bench - and with 10 substitute tallies, the towering Frenchman has more than any other Gunner during the Premier League era.

Eight of his last nine shots on target have found the back of the net, and on the international stage, his 11 goals across 16 matches for Les Bleus represent the country's most prolific performance. It would seem he's more than just a pretty face.

7. Harry Kane - Tottenham

Last year's Premier League Golden Boot winner had this season's progress deferred because of an eight-week spell on the sidelines nursing a wonky ankle, but with three goals in the last two matches against Arsenal and West Ham, Harry Kane is back.

Spurs supporters couldn't be happier, especially after the north London side failed to score from open play in six matches in all competitions on the trot. In that spell, Mauricio Pochettino's lot scored six times, pairing two defeats with four draws.

Few players are as vital to their club's success as Kane is to the undefeated Spurs.

6. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Manchester United

Over the last three seasons, only Cristiano Ronaldo (302), Lionel Messi (281), and Gonzalo Higuain (223) have more shots on target in Europe's top five divisions than Manchester United summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic's 213.

Having played every minute of United's league campaign save for Saturday's stalemate with Arsenal through suspension, Ibra's bagged a club-best six goals - nearly a third of the club's haul this campaign.

Still useful at 35, the Swede's two-goal performance against Swansea City was as dominant as they come. With a quartet of tallies in his first three Premier League matches, it's safe to say he remains one of Europe's most dominant strikers.

5. Roberto Firmino - Liverpool

Philippe Coutinho provides the magic and Sadio Mane the electricity, but despite the pair's combined brilliance this season, Roberto Firmino is arguably the most integral part of Liverpool's mesmerising attack. The Brazilian, 25, spearheads Jurgen Klopp's shape-shifting front line, combining an innate sense for finding dangerous areas inside the opposition box with quick decision-making and increasingly prolific finishing.

After a solid debut campaign last year in which he bagged 10 Premier League goals following his move from Hoffenheim, Firmino has kicked things into another gear this season; settling into his surroundings and, in fairness, benefiting in part from the brilliance surrounding him, the crafty forward has already hit the net five times in the league.

Unlike attackers who offer little else when they aren't rippling the mesh, the top-knotted forward is second on the Reds, behind only Coutinho, with 2.9 key passes per 90 minutes - he has a trio of assists this year. He's not your prototypical forward, but he is one of the best in England's top flight.

4. Romelu Lukaku - Everton

Few players are more unfairly painted with inaccurate descriptions of their talents than Everton stud Romelu Lukaku. True, he's built like a vending machine, but he's so much more than your classic No. 9. He is, in short, one of the most prolific players on offer in the Premier League. Pairing his overwhelming power with pace and a deft touch that belies conventional wisdom about attackers of his size, the Belgian's game has blossomed in front of everyone's eyes in recent seasons.

Only two active players - Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero - have scored more Premier League goals than Lukaku's 67 since the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign. That's a brilliant tally for any striker. It's otherworldly for someone who is still developing at only 23 years old.

He's already bagged seven in 11 appearances this season, and given his penchant for taking up dangerous positions and turning them into chances - he's firing over three shots per 90 minutes - there's no reason to believe his production will decelerate.

3. Alexis Sanchez - Arsenal

When Arsene Wenger moved Chilean international Alexis Sanchez into the striker's hole, there were concerns that the former Barcelona man lacked the physical presence to thrive in a notably laborious league.

Those critics are noticeably reticent now that Sanchez has coupled six goals with three assists in the league, including a two-goal performance against Sunderland in October that was nothing short of arousing.

A tireless worker, Arsenal has benefited from a four-man, fluid attack in which Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, and Alex Iwobi have combined for 23 goals and 13 helpers in 18 matches in all competitions. Not too shabby.

2. Diego Costa - Chelsea

After scoring Sunday's winner at Middlesbrough, Chelsea striker Diego Costa leads the Premier League with 10 goals, and beyond that, the Spanish international has curtailed his hotheaded ways - cantankerous no more.

Costa's display prompted Blues boss Antonio Conte to call the brawny forward "one of the best strikers in the world," and it's increasingly difficult to argue the Italian's sage statement.

With seven goals in his last seven away matches, Costa has been nightmare fuel for opposing defenders. Between a 10-spot of tallies and three assists, the former Atletico Madrid stud's also had a hand in more goals than any player in England's top flight.

1. Sergio Aguero - Manchester City

When healthy, Manchester City virtuoso Sergio Aguero is the Premier League's best striker.

His eight league goals are two short of Costa's standard, though the Argentine has played two fewer matches, and his 25 markers in the calendar year are six better than Kane's 19 and nine more than Costa's 16.

An uncanny dribbling talent who can create a chance with minimal touches, what Aguero lacks in aerial presence he makes up for with a mystifying nose for goal. His 14 tallies in all competitions - all of which, save one (during a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough), came in victories - are tops among players plying their trade in England.