The Premier League has played host to some of the greatest strikers of the modern era.

Taking your place in the Premier League 100-goal club is a prestigious feat sought after by many a world-class player with the likes of Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba earning centurion status.

But it's Alan Shearer who leads the way since the 1992 rebrand with his historic tally of 260 goals amassed across his time with Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.

Premier League's greatest goalscorers

It's an astonishing record that even Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero have failed to overhaul with Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane looking like the only real claimant as Shearer's successor.

However, considering the insane degree of longevity required to surpass Shearer's tally, it shouldn't be the only lens through which we assess the Premier League's greatest ever goalscorers.

Besides, there are many fans who would argue that the likes of Henry and Aguero, as well as outside contenders like Ruud van Nistelrooy, were actually the competition's most lethal forward.

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Who is the best of them all?

Then again, it's a dangerous rabbit hole if you get carried away with goal-per-game ratios because that metric once had the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Kelechi Iheanacho as the greatest of all time.

And today, we've decided to assess the Premier League's greatest goal-getters in a very different light, assessing the importance of their goals as opposed to the rate or quantity of them.

You may have seen 'match-winning goals' statistics pop up on your social media feeds in recent years, particularly if you're avid followers of the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate.

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Most match-winning goals

It's a pretty self-explanatory statistic that tallies up how many goals players scored that were the winners in their respective games - and it's something that Transfermarkt keeps tabs on.

As a result, we've been able to use their vast swathes of data to establish the players who have scored the most match-winning goals in the history of the Premier League.

I'm sure you'll agree that it's a fascinating premise and one with interesting results to boot, so check out the greatest goalscorers in the recent history of England's top-flight compare down below:

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Shearer leads the way

So, there you have it, Shearer retains his status at the top of the Premier League tree, but his advantage over Rooney is much, much slimmer than it is for goals scored overall.

It's also fascinating to see that Lampard finishes above the likes of Henry, Aguero, Kane, Fowler and Cole, which is nothing short of a staggering achievement for a midfielder. 

Meanwhile, as far as a certain debate that Lampard always gets dragged into goes, fans might well be frustrated that Scholes and Gerrard are both locked on 37 match-winning goals apiece.

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As for Ronaldo, the former Manchester United hero can hold his head high in 25th place considering his development in England, though he does have to share his spot with Liverpool hero Torres.

But above everything else, let it remind us all of Shearer's incredible goal-scoring achievements in the Premier League because goals win games and, well, his goals won the most.