July 3rd, 2007
“He has great qualities and will integrate very well into our style of football. Da Silva is a pacy, intelligent player. Also, he is hardworking and has a very good team ethic to his game.”
Well, that explains why it’s Da Silva and not Nicolas Anelka who will wear the number nine shirt for Arsenal next year. The squad number he’s been assigned, and the fact that Wenger calls him “predominantly a striker” suggests to me that we’ll have no more attacking reinforcements this summer. That, of course, is only a suggestion.
Brazilian-born da Silva was delighted to put pen to paper on his four-year deal:
“I am so happy and proud to be joining Arsenal Football Club.Arsenal is one of the biggest clubs in the world with many great players and I am looking forward to helping my new club challenge for trophies.”
It’s great to have a signing wrapped up so soon after Arsene’s return from holiday. If we were to add a couple more, next season might not be the horror show some were expecting.
July 3rd, 2007
First of all, forget the £16m figure the press are lazily banding around. The price is just under £8m – still a record fee for a player from the Croatian league. But Eduardo is no ordinary player, with 34 goals in 32 games last season, and a staggering 71 in 100 Dinamo appearances. Add to that 7 goals in 12 caps for his adopted country, and it’s a mighty impressive record.
However, it’s worth remembering that the Croatian league is much, much weaker than the Barclays Premier League (as it is now known). There is an element of risk in this purchase. But if you listen to current Croatia manager Slaven Bilic’s prediction of a few years back, Eduardo’s potential is evident:
“There is a boy who is very special. He came from Rio when he was 15, and you could put him now in the team at Manchester United and you wouldn’t know he wasn’t from there. Believe me, he will do things.”
Well, it’s not Manchester United, it’s Arsenal, and we’re very glad of it.
Eduardo is slight but quick, with a strong left-foot. He usually plays upfront, but has played wide-left in a 4-3-3. Like Reyes, he’s comfortable in either position, and could give us the width on that flank we lacked last season. But as his past shows, what he really brings is goals. All sorts of goals. This quote from an interview is particularly promising:
What is your favorite type of goal, and least favorite type of goal?
I actually like the most when the ball ricochets off me and goes in. Nobody’s expecting it, not even me, so it’s very nice to score like that. My least favorite is probably one-on-one chances. Everybody expects to see the ball in the back of the net, so if you score – no big deal, if you miss – you missed a sitter.
I can’t imagine many of our current players giving that answer.
Interestingly, Arsene remains silent. I’m curious to hear what he says about Eduardo, to try and guage whether or not he’ll be bringing in another striker alongside the Croatian. Although da Silva might turn out to be a top player, the idea of him, Bendtner, Adebayor, and van Persie as a front line does not fill me with confidence – I’d prefer someone closer to the Henry mould, with pace and finesse, to add to the mix.  Let’s wait and see: nobody expected Eduardo to sign. Who knows what more could happen this week?
On the day that da Silva arrived, Arsenal.com finally remembered that we’d sold Jeremie Aliadiere.
Finally, a reader sent me this pic, which bizarrely seems rather different from the Barca-style one glimpsed in a Scandinavian press release. Hm.
