Premier League's Greatest Super Subs Ranked: Solskjaer, Kanu, Dzeko

Solskjaer tops Premier League super sub rankings as Kanu takes second

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the Premier League's greatest super sub, according to a new ranking, with Nwankwo Kanu second and Edin Dzeko third. The list honours the players who delivered most consistently off the bench throughout their top-flight careers.

Top spot: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ranked the Premier League's greatest super sub
Runner-up: Nwankwo Kanu second, Edin Dzeko third
Record: Theo Walcott holds the most assists as a substitute (14) and the most times subbed off (168)
Best minutes-per-goal: Solskjaer and Dzeko, one every 83 minutes
Honorary mentions: Adam le Fondre, Hernan Crespo and Mark Robins miss out
Selection criteria: Consistent goals and assists as a replacement across a career

Analysis: Why Solskjaer, Kanu and Dzeko stand above the rest

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the most iconic super sub, largely for his Treble-clinching night in Barcelona. Having started Manchester United's FA Cup final win over Newcastle four days earlier, he came on in the 81st minute of the Champions League final to toe-poke a stoppage-time winner after Teddy Sheringham had equalised against Bayern Munich. In the Premier League alone, he is joint-fifth on the all-time substitute scoring list with 17, netting 19% of his 91 top-flight goals off the bench at 0.2 goals per game. His rate of scoring once every 83 minutes as a substitute is a competition high matched only by Dzeko.

Nwankwo Kanu's impact as a substitute was felt immediately at Arsenal. Coming off the bench on his debut, the Nigerian forward collected a throw-in meant for a Sheffield United player. That moment set the tone for a career defined by game-changing cameos. The ranking places him second, ahead of several more prolific scorers, because of the sheer weight and timing of his contributions when introduced late.

Edin Dzeko comes in third. Aged 40, he is still scoring goals for Bundesliga outfit Schalke, but his Premier League substitute record remains among the greatest. He netted 50 Premier League goals for Manchester City, more than a quarter of them as a substitute. Only Sergio Aguero and Javier Hernandez, among players with at least 10 substitute goals, have better goals-per-game ratios. On minutes per goal, Dzeko is level at the top with Solskjaer at one every 83 minutes. When assists are added, he stands alone: 17 goal contributions in 56 top-flight games as a replacement, a return every 63 minutes. The most important was his stoppage-time header against QPR on the final day of the 2012 season, two minutes before the famous Aguero moment.

Javier Hernandez is fourth, the "Little Pea" small in stature but a giant headache for tiring defenders. Of all players to have scored at least 10 substitute goals, only Aguero has netted at a more prolific rate. Hernandez has 19 in 78 sub appearances, a rate of 0.24 per game, with 36% of his Premier League goals coming after starting on the bench, predominantly for Manchester United but also later at West Ham. He scored on average every 88 minutes as a replacement, and only Jermain Defoe and Olivier Giroud have more substitute goals, while he sits among a leading group of seven, including Defoe, with five match-winners as a sub.

Tore Andre Flo is sixth. Good feet for a big man, the Norwegian was a menace not merely for his tall, gangly frame but for the silky touches he showed with his giant boots. Flo scored 34% of his 38 Premier League goals as a substitute, the eighth-highest ratio for those with 20 or more top-flight goals, and is joint-eighth overall for substitute goals. The first came three minutes into his Chelsea debut in 1997, and it was with the Blues he enjoyed his best Premier League output before a later stint at Sunderland. With three assists as a sub, he ranks fifth for minutes per goal involvement, contributing to his side scoring once every 78 minutes on average off the bench.

Olivier Giroud is seventh, a World Cup and Champions League winner whose one major missing trophy is the Premier League title, despite a knack for important goals off the bench. The Frenchman is second on the all-time substitute scoring list, with 21 of his 90 top-flight goals, almost a quarter, and only Dzeko, Solskjaer and Javier Hernandez have a better minutes-per-goal record as a sub. He honed that late impact at Arsenal and Chelsea across 103 substitute appearances in 10 Premier League seasons.

Daniel Sturridge is eighth. The former England man, who played for Manchester City, Chelsea, Bolton, Liverpool and West Brom in the top flight, scored a slightly higher percentage of his Premier League tally as a sub (22%) than Danny Welbeck. Sturridge was good for an assist too: his total of 24 goal contributions came at a more prolific rate than every substitute in Premier League history bar Dzeko and Solskjaer. Richarlison matches Sturridge for minutes per goal contribution but with eight fewer, and misses out.

Victor Anichebe is ninth, edging out Divock Origi. Both forwards contributed exactly half of all their Premier League goals as a substitute, but the ex-Everton, West Brom and Sunderland striker edges it with 13 substitute goals, joint-eighth on the all-time list, plus five assists off the bench. Roman Pavlyuchenko was also unlucky to miss out, with 45% of his 20 Premier League goals coming as a substitute for Tottenham.

Theo Walcott completes the top 10. Replaced on 168 occasions, he holds the record as the most subbed-off player in Premier League history, but it is his impact coming on that counts here. Bursting onto the scene as an explosive teenager, he was often used by Arsene Wenger to stretch defences with his pace and movement. No one has more than his 14 assists as a sub, with Ryan Giggs and Marc Albrighton level, while he scored 10 goals as a replacement for Arsenal, Everton and Southampton, putting him fourth for overall goal contributions off the bench.

The numbers

Solskjaer: 17 substitute goals, 19% of his 91 Premier League goals, 0.2 goals per game, one every 83 minutes
Kanu: ranked second all-time as a super sub
Dzeko: 50 Premier League goals for Manchester City, over a quarter as a sub, 17 goal contributions in 56 substitute appearances, one every 63 minutes
Hernandez: 19 goals in 78 sub appearances, 0.24 per game, 36% of his Premier League goals from the bench, one every 88 minutes
Flo: 34% of his 38 Premier League goals as a sub, three assists, one involvement every 78 minutes
Giroud: 21 of 90 Premier League goals as a sub, 103 substitute appearances across 10 seasons
Walcott: 14 assists as a sub (a record), 10 substitute goals, subbed off 168 times
Le Fondre: record five substitute goals in a single Premier League campaign, five of his eight in a three-game spell in January 2013
Crespo: six goals in 16 substitute appearances for Chelsea; Robins: five in 14 as a replacement

Talking points

Solskjaer's Treble-winning goal is unforgettable, but does a Premier League-only ranking overrate him compared with Giroud's 21 substitute goals?
Dzeko's numbers are exceptional, yet he thrived in a dominant Manchester City side — should the ranking weight context more heavily?
Walcott's 14 substitute assists are a record, but his 168 times subbed off suggest he was often the player making way, not the one changing games.
Danny Welbeck, the only current player in the top three with 19 goals, still has time to climb this list before he retires.

What happens next

The debate will continue in the comments, with readers invited to have their say. Welbeck, now at Chelsea, is the only active player in the top three and can still add to his 19 substitute goals, potentially reshaping this ranking before he hangs up his boots.