Arsenal Striker Eduardo Signed for Shakhtar Donetsk for £6m

Arsenal’s Brazil-born Croatian striker Eduardo has finally completed his £6m move to Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk. His transfer to Shakhtar looked imminent over the last few days as it was earlier revealed that the two clubs agreed on a £6 million deal.

Eduardo joined Arsenal in 2007 in a move away from Dinamo Zagreb for £7.5 million. He just started showing his quality during the 2007-08 season, but a horrific leg injury in February 2008 left him in the sideline for around a year.

Eduardo returned in action in 2009, but could not regain his form throughout the last season. As a result, he fell down the pecking order, and the arrival of Marouane Chamakh this summer meant that his possibility of getting back a regular place in the Arsenal starting line up would have been subsided.

Arsenal’s current front line strikers are Robin van Persie, Arshavin, Chamakh and Nicklas Bendtnern and there is a possibility Arsene Wenger may bring in Nice striker Loic Remy whose recent form has attracted a number of European clubs. Liverpool, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur are all currently in the race to secure the French striker’s service.

After the signing of Lorient Koscielny, however, Arsenal’s priority now is to sign another central defender as well as goalkeeper, while the arrival of a creative midfielder is also a possibility.

Shakhtar Donetsk Linked with Eduardo of Arsenal

Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk has now been heavily linked with Arsenal’s Croatian striker Eduardo. Reports available in the media suggest that Shakhtar is very close to swoop the 27-year-old for £6 million and has offered the striker £50,000-a-week salary.

Eduardo has lost manager Arsene Wenger’s favor over the last one and half year as he failed to regain the form that once looked formidable after coming back from a horrible leg injury sustained in 2008.

Since the end of the last season speculation was ripe Eduardo would leave the Emirates stadium this summer. Aston Villa and Besiktas have also revealed their interest in the former Dinamo Zagreb striker.

Shakhtar Donetsk would offer Eduardo Champions League football and their financial offers also looks pretty much lucrative for Eduardo. Shakhtar is trying to strengthen its squad by bringing in some quality player like Brazilian striker Robinho, Luis Suarez from Ajax, and Paraguay star Oscar Cardozo.

The arrival of Eduardo could convince his Croatia teammate Darijo Srna to stay at Shakhtar Donetsk despite being linked with a move to Chelsea.

At 27, it seems to be the right move for Eduardo. Arsenal has a number of quality options in Robin van Persie, Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh and Nicklas Bendtner in their attacking line up. So, it would not be easy for Eduardo to get his regular place back in the Arsenal first eleven and it would be better if he moves to somewhere else seeking more first team football.

Eduardo joined Arsenal in 2007 in a move away from Dinamo Zagreb and has so far played 41 premier league matches scoring 6 goals.

UEFA Cancelled Arsenal Striker Eduardo Ban on Diving

UEFA has cancelled the two-match ban imposed on Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva for alleged diving to get a penalty during Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Celtic in a Champions league qualifier. On September 1, Uefa Control and Disciplinary Body announced that the player would be suspended for two games after investigating the matter. Arsenal was quick to lodge an appeal against the ban to UEFA. The appeal body of UEFA then went through all the evidences and scrutinized every single matter related to the incident before taking the ban away.

Telegraph reported:

"Following examination of all the evidence, notably the declarations of both the referee and the referees' assessor, as well as the various video footage, it was not established to the panel's satisfaction that the referee had been deceived in taking his decision on the penalty.

Well, it is good news for Arsenal fans. The club is already missing the service of Andrei Arshavin. Gunners lost their last two premier league games too. So, missing Eduardo would have been a huge setback for the North London club. Arsenal, in a statement released in their website, also expressed that they are delighted with the cancellation of the ban of striker Eduardo. Now, let us see of Eduardo can help Arsenal to come back in winning track.