Some fun facts about Eduardo da Silva

Eduardo da Silva is a virtual unknown to football supporters outside CroatiaWhat do we know about Arsenal’s new signing?

There was a big relief for Arsenal supporters yesterday with the news that the club have signed Brazilian-born Croatian international striker Eduardo da Silva from Dinamo Zagreb. With names like Carlos Tevez, Obafemi Martins, Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Fernando Torres being thrown around manager Arsenal Wenger stayed true to form by signing a player who is virtually unknown outside of Croatia for a reported £8 million.

So, what do we actually know about Arsenal’s new signing? I’ve compiled a list of some interesting facts and figures about da Silva to give you some insight into the club’s newest addition. Enjoy!

All about Arsenal’s Crozilian

  • He is a 24-year-old striker with lightning speed and a poacher’s instinct in front of goal. 
  • Da Silva was the first player to score at Emirates Stadium. He netted a fine goal for Dinamo Zagreb in their 2-1 loss to Arsenal in the Champions League qualifying tie early last season.
  • The Brazilian-born player scored a Croatian record 34 goals in 32 games last season, smashing the previous record of 29.
  • He has netted six goals so far for Croatia in Euro 2008 qualifiers, and seven in twelve games all up for the national team. One of those was of course a fine looping header scored against England.
  • He has a typically crazy Brazilian nickname in ‘Dudu’.

Da Silva may become the player that Francis Jeffers never couldHave Arsenal found their fox in the box?

So there you have it. Judging from his career statistics with Dinamo Zagreb and the Croatian national team it would seem Wenger has brought in da Silva with the intention of providing a real goalscorer to compliment an Arsenal squad already brimming with creative attackers. Although da Silva is not the name that Arsenal supporters would’ve expected I have to say that I am most excited about the prospect of the Croatian smacking in some goals against Manchester United and Chelsea defenders who – like most others – will be pretty clueless to da Silva’s style of play.

Indeed, Croatian national team manager Slaven Bilic has assured Arsenal supporters that da Silva has the potential to replace outgoing captain Thierry Henry if they remain patient.

“Eduardo can replace Thierry Henry but the Arsenal fans need to give him time. Zagreb did not want to sell their captain. The president of the club told me he had received much bigger offers from teams in Russia and the Ukraine for da Silva. He resisted them all but when Arsenal called, I told him ‘how can you deny the boy this dream?’ This is Arsenal Football Club, one of the most respected and famous clubs in the world. He couldn’t do it to Da Silva and reluctantly agreed to sell.”

Bilic believes da Silva can shine at ArsenalNo reason not to believe Bilic 

I must say that I’ve been impressed with Bilic since he took over as Croatian manager and I’m sure these latest comments will endear him to a lot of Arsenal fans. He has got a relatively modest squad into a strong position to qualify for Euro 2008 and if he believes his attacking focal point can succeed in England with Arsenal then I don’t think there is any reason not to believe him. He was also responsible for some classic comments about England’s World Cup performances. And whilst the general feeling amongst Arsenal supporters is that Wenger may have finally found his fox-in-the-box, Bilic is quick to stress there is more to da Silva than just his ability to poach goals.

“Eduardo scores great goals but that is not all he can do. He can open space for other players in the team. Last season he had the most assists in the Croatian League. Arsenal fans will be delighted with him, I am sure of it.”

What do you think?

Have your say on Eduardo da Silva’s transfer to Arsenal by leaving a comment.

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Comments

  1. Pingback: Anonymous
  2. well spanish, we meet again lol

    i told u we may get some unknown guy.. and we did, am happy we got him bring some exicting times for the club.

    eduardo aka dudu, he looks the bidness… hopefully we can get him settled and scoring hey… he looks like a free-scoring striker he scored more goals then much strikers in europe, but because its a croatian league u dont get too much points for it.

    anyways my prediction still there, andreas guardardo and bakari sagna, and the sun reporting another croatian player cant rememeber the name also linked

    i cant see carlos tevez coming anymore, i would be suprised if he did, then all those pundits, players writing us off well they can stuff it now

  3. Hey, GunnerShabz. I read a little bit about Andreas Guardado in the latest World Soccer today and it mentioned that both Real Madrid and Manchester United have been monitoring him. Very, very interesting. I think Sagna will come and I also believe there will be a third signing, but I’m absolutely clueless as to who it will be.

  4. Know relatively little about this guy but how many times has Wenger brought in a relatively unknown player and turned them into a star? Enough times to give Arsenal some hope

  5. Absolutely right Scott. For anyone who doesn’t know, Scott runs a fabulous football forum website called at http://clubcaptain.co.uk that is well worth a look. He is a new partner of this blog and I encourage all readers of the Arsenal FC Blog to get posting on the Club Captain forum.

  6. SF, congrats on getting 50 posts. This place is getting better by the day (and it started pretty good).
    A question or two no one has answered yet:
    Do we call him Eduardo or da Silva?
    I may check clubcaptain when I have some more time, any details about it?
    Should we just bury our heads in the sand when it comes to people we are linked with? Why should we believe Sagna when Anelka was also a done deal last week?
    According to the Daily Star I think, Chelsea are bidding 13m for Malouda, unless we definitly have someone else lined up, can’t we bid that? These past couple of days have lead me to believe that when we sell Reyes, we’ll have loadsamoney…
    And so on.

  7. Samuel – I read on wikipedea that he likes to be called “DuDu” his nickname from Brazil as Da Silva is his mothers maiden name. Apperntly Some Croat newspapers were going to start a campaign to get him know as DuDu rather than Da Silva.

  8. There might be space for one more striker but remember Walcott needs to play there once in a while and Vela is coming in January. I wonder if Vela will get the LMF slot.

  9. On a side note all our strikers are now below the age of 25 rather odd situation if you ask me.

  10. This is an excellent buy..
    His style of play resembles that of MESSI.
    Lets have SAGNA and another signing then we’ll be in business.

  11. I am Croatian and can tell you that I was very impressed by Dudu since I read about him when he was only 15 years old and just came to Zagreb.
    At that age none of the kids training football could even compare to his technical abilities on the field… Of course, ball control doesn’t make a great player so I was sceptical how he would cope with big, strong defenders and what were his scoring abilities. Even with his smaller stature he proved he could “wrestle” with much stronger guys, and he is always so calm in the execution. When the ball is in his feet his touch is incredebly smooth, and at many times I thought of Henry when watching him. This makes him so dangerous to many defenders who just don’t expect his reaction (hint: look for the goal between two Israely defenders in the qualifier-that is an example). He is not selfish and assists a lot. He reads the game very good and seems to be “in the right place at the right time”. At the end just to mention his modesty and generally nice personality. Everybody likes him because of that and I believe that will be the case with his new teamplayers (I think this is often underestimated when the clubs are buying players).

  12. I’m trying to look optimiste with his signing but the thing is that I really don’t know him. Yes he has incredeble stats in croatia but there the championship is a lot different because the english one is much more physical and hard. Even on the international stage his stats are good. The only thing that I hope is that he’ll confirm at Arsenal.
    Besides I rally trust Arsene so that means he has a real potential.

  13. I fail to see the point in signing Sagna, Eboue does not have the necessary skills to be a SMF IMHO he is not just technically gifted enough. I feel that in the last game of the season Wenger was experimenting with both Eboue and Djourou the former gave the opinion of being out of place the latter impressed me with tough tackling, good passing, energy and also contesting balls arielly. He was however a bit naive as the opposition played around him a number of times.

    As for signings a few questions have to be asked.
    1) Where are the holes in the team, starting from the back cover for LB and CD are two obvious ones. But Gallas, Hoyte and even traore can cover there. Traore may not have the stamina to cope week in week out if Clichy is ever out for a long period but I think we are fairly solid. Only one question need be asked in CD is Senderos good enough ? Thats for you to decide if yes then nothing needs changing. If no then Curtis Davies, Yoannes Kaboul ……

    Only thing missing from CM is a younger Tomas Rosicky but that can wait as he is not that old anyway. We currently have 5 CMs competing for 2 spaces sure Gilberto will retire soon :(, but we may yet be able to throw Djourou in there as well so we are gonna have to wait and see how that pans out.

    We obviously need one winger but Vela is going to come in January and we have Walcott as well we can’t push them both forward as we will then have 7 strikers. So I am guessing they stay on the wing if we buy a winger then we have 5 people for 2 places.

    All our strikers are now 25 or under so maybe buy an older striker but then again competition for places sets in. Squad seems a bit crowded but there is absolutely no one who I’d like to show the door or the bench.

  14. From Croatia – That’s great feedback. As I said in a previous posting it seems that da Silva is getting glowing reviews from all the supporters in Croatia.
    Samuel – Thanks for the kind words. I have to say I’m really enjoying the debates that have gone on in the past few days. Things have definitely gone a bit mental!
    Klon – I don’t think Carlos Vela will ever be used as a wide midfielder. Like da Silva he is an out-and-out striker and would be wasted out wide. As for the age of the strikeforce, it is a bit odd but what a great sign for the future. If the three forwards we have now can get a real team mentality going we will have a terrific attacking team for years to come.
    floxis – Personally, I agree. All I can judge on is statistics, what I read and some YouTube clips. I think the best advice would be to listen to our Croatian readers for their opinions.

  15. Klon – In my opinion the only areas we need strengthening is in the centre of defence and out wide in attack. We’ve found a replacement for Henry’s departure but I honestly think we need a genuine wide player and a tough, experienced defender to help out at the back. Not sure who could do the job down back but I’m sure you all know I would prefer Florent Malouda out wide. Drenthe is also an option and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him miraculously signed by the club.

  16. Just a few more thoughts from me. I believe Wenger saw a lot of Henry in Dudu and that is the reason why he bought him. They are both incredibly soft with the ball if you know what I mean (unlike Ronaldinho’s style for example, which is also great). They both pass a lot and make goal-opportunities for other teamplayers. In the execution they both like to aim rather than to hit the ball with full power and than pray for the right direction. If I talk about the differences I woud say that although Dudu is fast, he cannot compare to Henry’s speed (not many footballers can!). I would also give advantage to Henry’s game outside the box (his speed helps him) but inside, in my humble opinion, Dudu is better (or will become better).
    I read that some people compare Dudu with Pippo which is only true in one aspect-they both seem to score because they are many times at the right place. Dudu can do much more with the ball than Pippo and will not be selfish-most of the time he will pass to better positioned teamplayer. His head scoring abillities are much better than of the Italian’s and not to mention that he will not spend half of the game faking fouls.

  17. Again, thanks for the comments. That is great information for any readers who are a little uncertain about what da Silva is all about.

  18. Thank God, at last somebody is comming. All those lousy enemies will give us somme peace. Hope the guy will just be himself and give the goals. He is not henry and we dont want another henry. Welcome to the best club in the world-Da Silva.

  19. I would say of our strikers only van Persie, da Silva, Adebayor, Walcott, and Bendtner have the quality to play first team football next season. That makes 5 in my eyes (or 4.5 in yours!). Who are the other two strikers you are referring to?

  20. “In the execution they both like to aim rather than to hit the ball with full power and than pray for the right direction.”
    This is not the Henry I remember, this has him more at odds with like the likes of RVN. Yes of course at times Henry would have to lay down to smack and hope (or backhill and hope) but his eye was always on where the keeper couldn’t go, and thats where the ball would go. I especially remember him outwitting Paul Robinson this way, but I always remember Spurs games more.

    I’ve seen Dudu compared to Reyes and Henry but neither really seem to fit the bill. Ok, i’ve only seen youtube goal clips so I don’t know his workrate out of the area, but he seems different: more headers, more attempts to get them Robert Pires tap-ins, seems he would let the rest of the team do the fancy footwork and passing, he’s be there to turn it into goals…

    There are many possibilities when it comes to our defence and if nothing else happens this week I’d like to see what SF has to say:
    (As it is even without Sagna):
    Djorou and Gilberto changing positions? Djorou played DM last game, Gilberto started ahead of him and Senderos many times. Post-not being able to win anything, was Wenger thinking that far ahead to the ANC, does Gilberto want to move back, does Wenger not trust PS and JD? JD at DM would seem just as at odds, Diaby, Denilson and Song fighting for the place (remember Song improved highly at Charlton and Wenger loves him).

    Sagna at right back? Eboue played Portsmouth and was used as a sub a couple times at RM. If Sagna was to come and be converted, word says he also plays CB and LB, not mentioning him as a LB. Cover for all positions? Seems strange a player would want to join in a 6m deal to be cover…

    Do Toure and Gallas work? Were their mistakes at the end of the season due to tiredness or because they don’t match as a partnership? After a rest and half a season together, will they be two world class players gelling like we hope they would be, or the same? Do we need to change it, or bring in a good defence coach?

    Senderos? Good enough or not? Rubbish against Drogba and at RB but 36 games out of the season he won’t have to deal with that and as back up, won’t start 36 games anyway.

    Heh, just a couple things…

  21. That’s a bit to take in. Looking at our defence I think the starting four are fine. You can’t really argue with Eboue, Gallas, Toure and Clichy. I also think Djourou, Senderos and Hoyte provide decent cover and Gallas and Toure can both move to the flanks if need be. The player I think we lack at the back is an old hand who could provide some steel in particular games. I know you’re not a fan of Senderos Samuel, but I still think he deserves time. And I think bringing back Martin Keown as defensive coach would help a lot. What do you make of all that?

  22. klon and sf: a lot of striking wheat has been seperated from striking chaff (and henry).
    Ali wasn’t good enough, Baps wasn’t good enough, the other kids such as Lupoli and Stokes seem to be not as good as Walcott and Bendtner, Henry didn’t want to stay, those left are who wanted to be and who Wenger thought would be good enough to fight for the team.
    Also: Utd had 1 real striker last season in Rooney who couldn’t have scored more than Ade – Saha and Smith injured, Soskjaer barely playing.
    Liverpool had 3 (four if you count Fowler. And we shouldn’t) none of which scored 20 goals. Next season will be the same, replacing Torres for either Crouch or Bellamy, and scoring only the same amount as them.
    Chelsea had three (counting the flop Shevchenko). Kalou was ok, they came second on Drogba’s coattails.
    I know after the scare of last season we are worried about it, but 3 main strikers and two very promising kids (that aren’t ali) should be more than enough.
    We have more urgant problems.

  23. Actually, I have no problem with Senderos as #3 or #4, I just thinking reading arsenal blogs has got to me. I’ll be calling for Hleb’s head on a stick soon (and I like Hleb.)

  24. I totally agree. The five strikers we have are sufficient. The next focus will be a wide player and some defensive cover. I wonder who Wenger will sign next?

  25. Samuel, one of the things that you have pointed out that a lot of Arsenal supporters should remember is that there is a definite pecking order for the club’s players. I feel the same way about Senderos – he is sufficient as a 3rd or 4th choice defender. The fact is (and a lot of people fail to realise this) that Arsenal cannot buy two or three big names in every position because they will all want game time and there would be no balance. Looking at the current forward structure I think that Adebayor, van Persie and now da Silva can share the bulk of the attacking duties on a rotation and the likes of Bendtner and Walcott can be called upon in times of injury or for other reasons. We don’t need more strikers or else none of the current ones will find any rhythm. As I said, you’ve made a great point.

  26. Dudu will kick ferguson mourinho benitaz especialli jol’s candy ass…

  27. “fact is (and a lot of people fail to realise this) that Arsenal cannot buy two or three big names in every position because they will all want game time and there would be no balance.”

    Yeah, the best examples (The Real team that has now ended, and the current Chelsea team) are proven to collapse under the own weight of their egos after immediate success. Well, Chelsea haven’t yet, but with Pizarro and Kalou surely in front of the 30million kid, a ginger kid in front of the German captain, Ashley Cole no longer being the best left back etc. I can see it happening next season.
    We have a team where players either know their place or they leave with our regards (Flamini, Lauren, Henry). Our back-up team is our youth team and people believe that you don’t win anything with youth but it has its upsides (pace, the opposition not being used to them, people fighting for a first team place ala cesc etc.)

  28. I also don’t fancy Sendy at all. Sendy’s situation is not a defensive coach issue. Its a fundamental weakness of pace and turning. The kind of ability required in a defender in an attacking team like Arsenal.This is one issue a lot of fans haven’t noticed. AW is aware that’s why he now prefers Gilberto in that position than Sendy. He did well in the CL ‘cos we defended deep in a 4-5-1 formation that did’t require much of counter-attack defending where Sendy is found wanting due to lack of pace. Arsenal is normally an attacking team that defends higher upfield and Sendy is not pacy enough for a counterattack defending. He cost us some goals last season as a result of this weakness. This is a weakness that can’t be corrected, its talent, inborn and comes naturally, which he lacks. His commitment is 100%but that alone is not enough. Sendy is excellent in a 4-5-1 formation. Likewise, he will do well at Chelsea and Pool where safety first is the football philosophy but not in teams like MANU and Arsenal. We need a supporting CB like Micah Richards (we can’t afford him) or Curtis Davies(we can get him for 8+). Fielding Sendy in a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 is always a mistake waiting to happen. Experience can’t help him.

  29. “His commitment is 100%but that alone is not enough.”

    I think you are selling him a bit short. He plays best with someone pacier etc. and he is there for heading ability, hard tackling and what not.

  30. Samuel-I’m not criticising Sendy for its own sake. We’re looking at Arsenal forthe next season and there are loopholes in the team that need to be corrected and one is a supporting role for CB. With the upcoming ANC games we’ll be left with Gallas, Sendy and Djourou and I’m saying that Sendy’s weaknesses became apparent in some matches last season that we need to put it behind us by getting another CB. ‘He plays best with someone pacier and he is there for heading ability,hard tackling and what not’ Why then can’t we get someone who’s capable of doing all that he’s good at and also pacy? Why shouldn’t we so that we can get a better platform to challenge for the title? Someone also as youngas Sendy but with all the positives like Curtis Davies of West Brom Albion?

  31. Is Curtis Davies worth 8million though? There must be a better choice out there, hell Sagna at CB…

    Also, why did we show off Eduardo with the old kit? Where is the new one, he’s not gonna wear that one and the away has been about for a day already.

  32. andreas guardardo is a target

    curtis davies could come in, meaning djorou on loan

    bakari sagna

    and id love to see javier saviola in there too…

    i got a feeling wenger is going for the 4-3-3

  33. Djourou on loan? no way; we should rather release sendy on for about a year to gain some more experience and see if he can improve his game. Djourou is vital since he can fill in at CB, RB and CM, so he cant’t go. Bakari is too short to be a CB. I’m informed he’s good at LB and RB so he’ll be a good buy, but his price at 6+ might put AW off.

  34. we can still go for florent malouda, apparently… chelsea have not done a deal and it looks like peter idiot kenyon is not interested…. so we can go in there if arsene is interested

  35. Is not “Andreas” guardado
    his name is Andres Guardado
    he´s mexican and me too so I see him play a lot.
    and today he anounnce that he signs for PSV for the next 5 years
    Im a big Arsenal fan and I can tell you that he is not good enough for Arsenal obviously if you search videos of him he looks impressive but our league is very very mediocre

  36. ohh and by the way when Arsenal bought Carlos Vela “the mexican striker” the media here reports that Arsene was delighted by Memo Ochoa the new goalkeeper of our National Team but he´s very young to be a goalkeepere (he´s 21)
    and honestly he´s really really good
    I hope Arsenal buy him and get him in loan for some years

  37. Samuel
    ——
    We Croatians gave him that nickname, Dudu…

    Floxis
    ——
    Did you forget who scoard the first goal on Emirates, against Arsenal?
    Did you forget his goal against England in Maksimir?
    I don’t think so…

    Son of mother Kan
    ——————
    Dudu will kick ferguson mourinho benitaz especialli jol’s candy ass…
    I agree

    The time will show who is Dudu
    Arsenal will have some more fans from Croatia…

    And guys, sorry for my English…

  38. It’s good to see more insider info from the Mexicans and Croatians out there. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Guardado at PSV, they already have a multi-national squad and a couple of Mexicans on the books so it could be a good stepping stone for a young winger.

  39. We do need a strong defensive midfielder and a full back. remeber Ebue will be off in Jan for African Cup of Nations.

    It will be nice to have Martins upfront. That will give us 4 senior forwards: Adebayor, VP, Silva and Martins. With these, I should think we’ll be ok.

  40. Hi there.I want to say something about Eduardo.When he first came to Croatia at the age of 15 he was nobody.He was just a kid.There were times when he only had some eggs to eat.Yes that is true.I think that he deserves to play in Arsenal.And I am pretty sure he want let down the supporters.He is a team player.

  41. It’s really great to hear that he is such a team player. Of all the comments I’ve heard about him perhaps that is the most surprising – given that many people see him as an out-and-out goalscorer. Are you a Croatia Zagreb supporter franjo?

  42. Who does Arsene Wenger need to bring in after Eduardo” Matador”Silva to make Arsenal genuine title contenders?

  43. BREAKING NEWS!
    Arsenal to announce the signing of Bakary Sagna and Martins tomorrow.

  44. No I am Dinamo Zagreb supporter.I am looking forward to see Eduardo plays in Champions League.

  45. I left this comment on some other blog also…ž
    I hope he can adjust to the level of premiership, because the level of Croatian league is rather poor and maybe he will need some time. On the other hand I really believe that he has a potential. He
    has excellent personality and he survived some rather tough moments in his life with evident constant progress.Because of that all the dinamo fans really love him. As a player he has: excellent
    acceleration, a good nose for the goal, BOTH legs (although the left is better), a strong sense of team play, and excellent technique. A draw back could be experience and a physical duels, although
    he improved strength. Personally when I was thinking were could he go (choosing only the top clubs) – Arsenal. I think he can excellently fit in Arsenal squad and really wish him all the well. He
    deserved it – believe me,

  46. Arsenal still to announce the signing of Bakary Sagna and Obafemi Martins

  47. I still trust Arsene Wenger!
    There is no chance of Chelsea,Spurs or anyone else like that doing better than Arsenal just because they’re spending more money.
    ”Arsenal is Arsenal”

  48. I still believe that nothing is worthy said than seen. I am confident that Wenger knows what he is doing. In Uganda where I hail from, a lot has been mentioned about Wenger’s reluctancy to buying new players. To me, it is a question of time. What matters is consistency. If only Wenger could tell these boys how to shoot when there is an opportunity, I believe life at the Emirates would be more admirable than ever before. Professeur, just buy one other utility player only if Eto’o Samuel refuses to join us.

    bataazemusa@yahoo.com

  49. In life, certain things seem to be pronounced than they would have been. The Wenger slobdan has been a bond of contention. I still believe that Wenger did well to sell off Thierry because at the moment the world needs to know who Professeur is really. I believe it is not necessary to blame before we see. Wenger has brought in Eduado Da Silva, Bakary Sagna, who are they? They are footballers who little known to the funs and much known to the manager. Let us all watch while we join hands in players for our team. Thierry is not the only player the world has ever had.

    If only the likes of Rosiscky, Hleb, Gallas, Toure, Fabregas, Ebue, Gilberto Persie are fit, then Arsenal will fully shine to a more ladder than it did last season.

    Thanks bataazemusa@yahoo.com

  50. Arsenal is better off thn when they Have Henry on the pitch. I only call upon Gilberto to grow a little better than he is and he will conquor Europe.

    Van Persie, and the rest of the strikers just need to raise the game and Wenger will all be smiles again.

    Fans should just trust us

    bataazemusa@yahoo.com

  51. In July of this year 2007, I wrote to you telling you about the likelyhood possibility of triumphancy in the Arsenal squad. No wonder what matters most at the time is not what we bought, but what we possess in store. As a fully fit believer in the Wenger style of doing things, I call upon all fans of whatever area to fully think positive about the team. The rise is not a fall, but a fall may be a rise, didnt Man U win the title after all those seasons.

    Thank you for being behind us
    bataazemusa@yahoo.com

  52. why doesn`t Arsenal buy at list buy some players with exprience lather than buying young people? And don`t we buy some middle filders since we lost one aleady together with the difenders?

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