The best EPL striking partnerships - Who's the best of them all?

Though the second striker may be on the wane, there are still teams who play two forwards in the team, albeit with some caveats. The modern day trend of playing a packed midfield while fielding only one out-and-out striker has seen many a good chances for strike partnership fall by the wayside; but there are instances in which the old romanticised notion of the “two amigos” up front, marauding opposition lines, still thrives. We take a look at three such partnerships from the Premier League, and put out the case for who’s the best out of the lot.

So, without further ado, let’s get under way.

1) Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MAY 12: Wayne Rooney of Manchester United celebrates with team-mate Robin van Persie following the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Swansea City at Old Trafford on May 12, 2013 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

When Sir Alex Ferguson pulled off the coup of signing Robin van Persie from Arsenal last season, football fans salivated at the thought of seeing RvP playing in tandem with Wayne Rooney. After all, it was a mouthwatering combination. The “dream team” though, didn’t perform as well as many hoped, since Rooney did not have that good a season, even though van Persie blitzed away at the scoring charts.

At the start of this season it seemed that they would not get the opportunity to show the world how potent they can be when rumours emerged that Rooney wanted out. But after all the speculation, and after the dust had settled, Rooney remained at United, and has shown blistering form this season. Both Rooney and van Persie have got off to amazing starts in the new season: Rooney has scored 5 in his 6 games this season and van Persie has 6 from the same number of games. Their interplay also looks to be a thing that will worry opposition fans.

Van Persie’s sumptuous strike against Aston Villa at Old Trafford, which came after a delightful pass from Rooney typifies the burgeoning understanding that the pair have developed. Their styles too are perfect complements of each other. Rooney loves dropping deep to pick up the ball and dictate play, creating space between the holding midfielders and the central defenders to play his cross-field passes. Van Persie, on the other hand posses the finest ability to create a goal from absolutely nothing. His sublime touch, ability to turn defenders and instinctive finishing make him a handful for any defence.

It is also an added advantage for United that both van Persie and Rooney are excellent in dead-ball situations. Rooney has already scored 4 times from direct free-kicks this season, and van Persie has netted a penalty.