Our view: the greatest Premier League players ever

But who among them is the greatest player in the Premier League… if any? That was the question posed on the latest Game of Opinions podcast as the panel argued over the English top-flight’s finest.

The debate coincides with the second edition of the Eurosport Cup, where our readers are invited to settle a series of football debates.

Awkwardly, your fellow readers have conspired to eliminate two of our podcast picks – Cristiano Ronaldo and Dennis Bergkamp – but we attempted to make our cases anyway.

Listen to the podcast now, watch the vodcast trailer below or revisit the written arguments. Then dive into the Eurosport Cup to vote, with the winner set to be announced on Sunday.

The case for Thierry Henry by Pete Sharland. "For eight devastating years Henry destroyed Premier League defences with pace, trickery, and above all else ruthlessness in front of goal. When he eventually swapped North London for Catalunya in 2007 he did so having scored 226 goals for Arsenal, the most in the club’s history, with 174 of those coming in the Premier League."

The case for Eric Cantona by Marcus Foley. "Cantona, it can be argued, was the catalyst that changed English football, a revolutionary, whose presence set forth in motion its repositioning as a world leader. His brilliance was as symbolic as it was material."

The case for Dennis Bergkamp by Carrie Dunn. "He knew he had the ability to be the best and did not rest until he achieved it. His nose-to-the-grindstone approach did not bring workmanlike results; it brought unearthly genius. His skill was never needlessly on display; he was never a showboater, or into humiliating his opponent. Everything he did was in pursuit of the larger goal - the team's victory."

The case for Cristiano Ronaldo by Ben Snowball. "Does it matter if we 'only' got three devastating seasons from the Portuguese winger? It’s precisely because he was so good that his spell at the top in England was fleeting. He had bigger ambitions than the Premier League and only Real Madrid, and a world-record fee of £80 million, could satisfy them."