As news of Eusebio’s passing has rocked the football world, one of the greatest footballers to grace the game has left us. He scored an amazing 9 goals in the 1966 World Cup, and is rightly remembered as one of the best players to play the game.

Eusebio’s club record saw him score a staggering 748 goals in 733 games, and with Benfica he won European Cup and Portuguese Championship 10 times. He also won the Ballon D’or in 1965.

Pele’s club record was almost as impressive, with the Brazilian managing to score 626 goals in 669 games. He won the Copa Libertadores twice and the Brazilian Championship 6 times. He also won South American Player of the Year in 1973.

If you compare International scoring records, Pele scored 77 in 92 games, and Eusebio 41 in 64. But when it comes to International success, no-one rivals Pele.

He won the World Cup 3 times, in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

There is no doubt that both players were two of the best players the world has ever seen, so it depends on your perspective. Does playing in Europe make a difference? And does playing in a phenomenal Brazilian national side help? Eusebio only managed to play in one world cup as Portugal would fail to qualify while the Black Panther was still playing International football.

What do you think? Leave your comments in the section below.

Normal service is resumed somewhat, as Arsenal beat West Ham 3-1 at Upton Park, and Liverpool lost 2-1 at Manchester City. Manchester United rallied to beat Hull 3-2, Chelsea churned out a 1-0 win against Swansea and Everton suffered a shock defeat to Sunderland at Goodison Park.

Below that, are Newcastle United who we face tomorrow. They struggled in the early part of the season but now sit in 6th place in the Premier League and unfortunately for us are in a rich vain of form. But more on that later.

I caught most of the Manchester City v Liverpool encounter and although City are invincible at home, for me, Liverpool were unlucky not to get something from that match – and I thought that they did enough to win the game.

Suarez is in phenomenal form and caused City all kinds of problems. Along with Coutinho and Sterling, they created 4 or 5 really good chances which on another day (and if Suarez was on the end of them) they would have scored them all. It was definitely the toughest game Manchester City have had at home and Liverpool were unfortunate.

It’s a wide-open title race and Liverpool have shown that they are right in the thick of it.

One thing Brendan Rodgers did blame though was the referee. Sterling was flagged offside in a pivotable moment in the game and replays showed that he was a good 2 or 3 yards onside.

And that got me thinking about the Chelsea game where Mike Dean officiated. I had an online poll to see whether Arsenal fans thought he was a fucking wander, and 98% thought he was.

We’ve all seen the win percentage for Arsenal when Mike Dean referees our games, and compared to the other top sides, it is unbelievable. So when you see Mikel’s attempt to take off Arteta’s leg and Walcott’s blatant penalty appeal turned down, you have to wonder.

Arsene has had integrity when it comes to referees, stating publicly on one or more occasion that he feels it is inappropriate to do what Alex Ferguson used to do all the time, which was to publicly call out the referee before the game, and “hoping” that the referee would have a good game before it kicks off. That puts pressure on the referee and that’s why Old Trafford is notorious for a lot of dubious refereeing decisions. Arsene Wenger has stated many times that before the game kicks off, he has no idea who the referee is.

But maybe it’s time to stop being so nice. If Mike Dean is the referee in one of our games we should question his record. He clearly has a huge problem with Arsenal and some of the decisions in the Chelsea game were criminal. But as usual, it gets brushed under the carpet and a potential 3 points goes begging.

Anyway, onto football and Arsenal beat West Ham with a slightly nervy 3-1 win. We dominated the first half but did our best to try and not score by as many different methods as possible. How we didn’t open the scoring in the first 45 minutes was baffling.

Then as expect, we got the kick in the teeth we usually get when we spurn our chances. West Ham scored through Carlton Cole just after the break and that gave us an uphill challenge.

But credit to the lads, they rallied and hit back with 3 good goals. The equaliser came when Theo weaved his way through the West Ham defence and his tame shot managed to find its way through, but I wasn’t complaining. The Podolski’s long awaited comeback made the difference – his cross resulted in a collectors item through Theo Walcott’s header and then the German lashed in a really fantastic shot into the bottom corner for Arsenal’s third.

A great win, all three points and Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League. A good Boxing Day all round.

And on Sunday we see Arsenal travel to St James’ Park for a tough game against Newcastle. In the form table, they sit second, managing to rack up 13 points from a possible 18. Manchester City are top with 16 from 18, and Arsenal 6th with 11 from 18.

As I’ve already mentioned, Newcastle struggled a bit at the start of the season but have really found their feet now. Their form at home is excellent, having beaten Chelsea and drawing against Liverpool and Southampton. They have a lot of players who can cause problems and their confidence is sky high after smashing Stoke City 5-1.

So it will be one hell of a tough game for us.

Jack Wilshere is back which gives us more options in midfield, and apart from a few nervous moments the partnership of Mertesacker and Vermaelen looked pretty solid against West Ham. Upfront Arsene will have to choose carefully however as Giroud looks well off the pace (whether that’s down to quality or fatigue) and for me, Podolski has to start in the central striker position. With Özil and Theo in support, they should be too much for Newcastle United.

After the performances of Arsenal over the last few weeks, it’s clear that  Arsene Wenger needs to bring in another striker. Olivier Giroud, depending on who you ask of course, is either not good enough to fire us to the Premier League title, or knackered. Either way, another forward option is needed if we are to seriously compete at the top of the table up until May.

So who can we get in? I have looked around the different European leagues and had a look at who we could try and sign in the January Transfer Window:

1. Robert Lewandowski

What a coup this would be. It seems as if Robert Lewandowski is dead set on moving to German rivals Bayern Munich, and Borussia Dortmund are adamant that he won’t be moving until the summer.

However, this for me would be a huge signing – not just in terms of making a statement of intent but for his sheer prowess in front of goal. For me, he is one of the best strikers in the game at the moment. He’s only 25, the perfect age for a Wenger signing, and got his best years ahead of him. With him in the Arsenal side, there’s no doubt he would be a massive hit in the Premier League. He is that good.

The rumour mills have gone into overdrive, saying that he’s on the top of our striker list and we’ll be putting in an opening bid of around £15 million in January. While that sounds good, there are a few stumbling blocks which make this move unlikely.

Would be move to another Champions League club in the middle of the season? Dortmund are into the knockout rounds and he’d miss those games, and obviously couldn’t play for us in the Champions League. And he’s already stated he wanted to move to Bayern several times, meaning that he is most likely settled in Germany and has no intention to move from there.

And could we afford his wage demands? One thing we do have in our favour is our strong German continent, as well as a couple of Poles in our squad for good measure.

Likelihood rating: 20%

2. Diego Costa

There have been a few rumblings about the Atletico Madrid striker and the replacement for Falcao (well, they did play a season together) has scored 19 goals in 17 league games. Like Lewandowski he’s only 25 and is a powerful, clinical striker who knows how to find the back of the net.

The fact that he is being courted by both the Spanish and Brazilian national sides, and is making a big name for himself in Europe make this move hugely unlikely – mainly because all the top sides will be after him.

Unfortunately, a pipe dream.

Likelihood rating: 5%

3. Vincent Aboubakar

Never heard of him? He’s the Cameroonian striker playing in Ligue 1 for French side Lorient. He’s currently the third top goal-scorer in the French league with 11 goals, behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and ahead of Monaco’s Radamel Falcao.

He’s a big, no-nonsense striker who is powerful and doesn’t mess around. I’ve seen him a few times and he reminds me of a young Didier Drogba.

He’s only 21 one, comes from the French league (we all know how Arsene likes players from France) and wouldn’t cost a huge amount, probably something in the region of £12 million.

And he’s not an established world class striker so wouldn’t be commanding a starting place ahead of Olivier Giroud.

He still has a relatively low likelihood rating however as no-one has linked him to us and I just looked for him myself.

Likelihood rating: 30%

4. Jackson Martinez

Never heard of him either?

He’s a Columbian striker who currently plays for FC Porto in the Portuguese Premiera Liga.  He’s currently the second top goalscorer in that league, and is 27 years old.

FC Porto have reputation of signing strikers who end up being sold for massive amounts in later years, such as Radamel Falcao and Hulk, and obviously have a talent for finding good South American forwards. So why wait until they sell them to Atletico Madrid or similar sides and then sell them for upwards of £40 million?

Likelihood rating: 10%

5. Adrián Ramos

Another Columbian, this time from the Bundesliga. He’s also 27 and currently the joint top scorer in Germany alongside Robert Lewandowski. And the fact that Hertha BSC are 6th in the league makes the goal tally even more impressive – added to the fact that he’s virtually scored almost half of the teams goals this season as well.

Again, he’s big and powerful, and scores a lot of goals from set-pieces and crosses. He has a bit of pace as well and could definitely do a job for us.

Likelihood rating: 10%

Simple question, is Mike Dean a fucking wanker?