WHO IS EUROPE'S DEADLIEST ASSASSIN?
Opta decided to test their claims by scouring the continent to discover the cream of the goalscoring crop.
Ruud van Nistelrooy was pushed to the fore after netting against Olympiakos, while Thierry Henry received the plaudits following his cool last-gasp finish at home to Real Mallorca.
However, the duo have stiff competition to earn the accolade of 'best striker in Europe' when some of the world's best leagues are brought into contention.
In the scoring stakes, Henry leaves a trail of talent in his wake having bagged eight Premiership goals for The Gunners this term - twice as many than van Nistelrooy has mustered for the English champions - but just one more strike than Milan hot-shot Andrei Shevchenko.
The former Dinamo Kiev hero has terrorised defences in Serie A this term and has hit the back of the net with a third of his shots on target - six percentage points better than the Red Devil and 11 percentage points superior to Henry's rate.
Shevchenko has averaged a goal every 88.4 minutes this season, marginally more frequent than Henry, with Bayern Munich's dangerous striker Giovane Elber occupying third place.
Dutch international van Nistelrooy, who has spent considerably less time on the filed than his contemporaries, is 20 minutes off the pace set by the Ukrainian. The bigger picture reveals Shevchenko as the most potent front-runner in Europe having hit the target with an unrivalled 62% of his efforts and ultimately scoring with a higher percentage of balls that leave his boot.
All is not lost for Wenger however, as Henry is in the frame once more having forced a save from 59% of his shots - six percentage points better than 'van the man' at Old Trafford.
But three of the top four most-accurate shooters in Europe hail from Italy's top division, with Juve's David Trezeguet and Lazio's Hernan Crespo both landing more than half of their shots on target this season. Although it should be noted that the latter - the world's most-expensive forward at £37 million - has yet to open his league account in Rome.
In terms of the English top flight, Michael Owen could be perceived as the most dangerous forward having beaten the 'keeper with 30% of his efforts for Liverpool, but he has only bagged a hat-trick of goals having missed three games through injury.
Nevertheless, this has not prevented 1980s Anfield legend Ian Rush citing the youngster as 'the best out-and-out goalscorer in the business'. No doubt this theory will be tested as the season progresses.
There has already been reaction to the debate from other sources and Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri rates the Blues' goal machine Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as 'the best in the world', which represents a valid argument given the Dutch ace's record.
He has already slammed home nine Premiership goals this term and looks in good stead to become his division's top scorer for the fourth season running.
But, for the benefit of arch-rivals Wenger and Ferguson, it would appear that Henry is the more effective Premiership striker at present and is also holding his own in terms of Europe's top performers.
The debate is set to rage on over the coming months and the key showdown will be on 25th November when United and Arsenal clash at Highbury.
