Eduardo

Name Eduardo
Born February 25, 1983
Rio De Janeiro
Brazil
Position Striker
Squad Number 9
Previous Club(s) CBF Nova Kennedy
Bangu Atletico Clube
Inter Zapresi
Dinamo Zagreb
Joined Arsenal July 03, 2007
Arsenal Debut Blackburn Rovers (a)
Premiership
August 19, 2007,
Drew 1-1


9. Eduardo


Arsenal created a hatful of chances last season but struggled to kill teams off. Could Eduardo be the man to apply the finishing touch they need?

The Brazilian-born striker moved to Croatia at the age of 15 and took Croatian nationality in 2002. By the start of the 2007/08 season Eduardo had netted seven times in 12 internationals, including a goal against England in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

He is even more prolific at club level, scoring 73 goals in 104 appearances for Dinamo Zagreb and winning two Croatian league titles before moving to Emirates Stadium on a four-year contract in July 2007.

Arsène Wenger is a big fan of Eduardo. "He has great qualities and will integrate very well into our style of football," said the Arsenal manager. "He is a very good finisher and although he is predominantly a striker, he is a very adaptable player."

Eduardo demonstrated his finishing ability with the winner against Lazio in the Amsterdam Tournament in August. And he knows all about scoring at Emirates Stadium after netting the first European goal there when Arsenal beat Dinamo on aggregate in the Champions League qualfiers in 2006.

                                           My Year

April

Eduardo continued his rehabilitation from the injury sustained at Birmingham City in late February.

March

At the end of March it was revealed that Eduardo was making ‘satisfactory progress’ in his bid to recover from a broken leg and dislocated ankle.

February

A sickening end to another profitable month for Eduardo. His horrific leg/ankle injury sustained away to Birmingham came after four consecutive starts that yielded one assist and the sumptuous volley at the City of Manchester Stadium.

January

Just 70 seconds of Arsenal’s January fixtures had elapsed when Eduardo struck a stunning volley to set the Gunners on the road to victory over West Ham. The Croatian subsequently appeared in every game of the month, registering one more goal and an impressive six assists.

December

Eduardo finished December with an impressive four goals having grabbed match-winning braces against Blackburn in the Carling Cup and Everton in the Premier League. The Croatian international’s adaptation into English football is continuing and should he reproduce the form he showed this month then the process may well be quicker than expected.

November

As he continues to adapt to life in England, Eduardo had a profitable month in the red of Arsenal. He featured in some capacity four times for the Club and scored in the defeat in Sevilla. An outstanding performance for Croatia against England would have aided his confidence. He was described by Arsène Wenger as his 'secret weapon'.

October

Eduardo continued to adapt to life in London and, having suffered from an ankle injury early in the month, made his only league appearance of the season against Bolton. The Croatian international was in action for his national side, scoring the only goal of their win against Israel. He ended the month with two superb goals in the 3-0 win against Sheffield United. .