Born in 1892, Arthur played for a number of clubs in São Paulo, most notably Paulistrano and São Paulo FC in a career that stretched from 1910 to 1935. Known as either 'Tiger' or 'Golden Foot' he was twenty-two - and a member of the Ypiranga club - when he played for the combined Rio-São Paulo team against Exeter City in 1914. 

There are various figures for how many times he played for Brazil - ranging from 17 games (eight goals) to 23 appearances scoring on ten occasions - and there is even more confusion and disagreement regarding his overall career record. One account has him scoring in excess of 1,300 career goals; others no more than a third of this figure.

But it's indisputable that he was part of Brazil's South American championship-winming teams in 1919 and 1922 even though he was to miss the inaugural World Cup in 1930 because of a dispute between the Rio and São Paulo federations. It's also known that he lived much of his life in poverty until his death at the age of eventy-seven in 1969 just months before Brazil won its third World Cup in four attempts.