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Posts Tagged ‘eduardo’

Could Eduardo really return so quickly?

05.30.08

Eduardo\'s Injury

Well reports eminating from Eduardo himself are now suggesting that he could be back in pre-season training. At the time of the injury, the player was suspected to be out injured for anywhere from 9 months to 15 months. After the surgery, we all thought he would be back in November or December… so to my surprise this news broke and I couldn’t believe it.

Eduardo is currently in Brazil in rehabilitation but has revealed that he could return to Arsenal as early as the end of July or maybe early August. Eduardo spoke today:

“I am returning to Europe from Brazil at the beginning of August, perhaps even the end of July.

“Doctors tell me by then I will be fully recovered and able to play football again. I hope so too.

“I’m feeling well and my rehabilitation is going better than I would ever have hoped.”

It would be a great sight to see back in pre-season. He hasn’t played for the best part of half a year, but no doubt his determination will see him come back a better player.

I’ll always what he said straight after the incident:

“I am unsure at the moment of the extent of the injury and how long I will be out of action for but I know that I won’t be able to play for Arsenal for the rest of the season or be ready in time for the Euros this summer. But I’m not worried about that. My concentration and determination is on making as quick a recovery as possible. I am determined to overcome this injury.”
A Tribute to Eduardo

I do remember people talking about him being back in 6 months, and boy has that time flied? We asked WikiAnswers how long it took to heal from a break and it said:

“It takes approximately 6-8 weeks with a cast. If you do not have a cast it will take a lot longer because if you do not have it in the straight position in the healing process it could form the wrong way and you will be scarred for life. “

The actual break I believe was compound, so it would probably nearer three months to heal.

Unasked.com says:

“Depending on the bone anything between a week and several months (at least). A broken finger with a straight fracture will heal within one or two weeks. A multiple compound fracture of the thigh which is something you really really don’t want to have can take months to heal properly if it ever does.”

I would suggest based on these interesting facts, that the return date of August is quite real. The only thing that makes it hard to believe were the pictures of the incident itself, which were horrific to say the least!

Here’s the interview in video:

I have to praise Eduardo for his continued desired to come back and it will be a good day when the young man is back in the Red and White of the Arsenal!

Have a good weekend!]]>

Arsenal vs Aston Villa Team News and Friday Round Up: Taylor breaks his silence

02.29.08

Good evening everyone! Or should I say good morning because you may be reading this in the Morning or it may be your morning when it’s my evening or my morning when it’s your evening or if you live in Fiji then it’s across a date line, so good evening for tomorrow…? let me start again.

Howdy everyone! Well, it’s Friday and that means many many things… firstly, Arseblog Arsecast 66 is out today and a worthy listen…

There’s a lot that’s happened today so let’s start with a round up of the new and then look forward to the Aston Villa game.

Taylor breaks his silence…

Martin Taylor has today broken his silence on the Eduardo affair. From what we’ve heard from the Birmingham camp since the incident, he is supposed not a vicious player, although the tackle was definitely over the top. As shown pictorially many times and highlighted in last Sundays blog, his tackle was very much mistimed. His silence was the right thing to do – he waited until things calmed down and then said his piece. Believe me, I am not happy, but he has shown to be more dignified than his team mates Kelly and Larsson. His statement today was basically an apology, remorse of the incident and an olive branch to Arsenal fans… here’s what he said and was quoted in the Independent:

“I will be really happy on the day when I see he is back in the Arsenal and Croatia line-up and when he is scoring goals again. The injury was terrible enough. When he gets back to fitness and he puts the ball in the net for Arsenal for the first time, we will all feel much better. People will be able to see that accidents like these are the nature of football and you can recover from it. I went to see him on Saturday but, unfortunately, he was still recovering from an operation, so first thing on Sunday morning I went to the hospital. Although there was a language barrier, I just said that I didn’t mean him any harm at all and that I hoped he made a quick recovery. He took it on board and nodded. I was just really glad we could communicate. He is obviously a really strong man. Since then, I have read in the papers that he would be happy for me to visit him. That’s something I’d like to do.”

Well, that’s a little better from Taylor and I’m glad he went to see him – Eduardo is a gracious man indeed, I would have accidently rolled my bed over his foot, but then I’m not in his position, so that would probably be the wrong thing to do! Alan Smith also speaks to Sky Sports about how he’s been in his position and how much of a bad injury it was, thanks Alan… obviously we didn’t know!

Ladies finally lose… 

Well they say all good things come to an end and our Ladies team finally lost today 1-0 to Everton in the league cup final. Before today it was 58 game winning run in domestic football, yes 58 games. Although it won’t upset the season and may refocus some of the players, it wasn’t expected and a bit of a shock to the system.

The match report is available here.

Blocking State

The club has moved to shed some light on what the “blocking state” business is all about. Yesterday’s blogcommented on Usmanov’s increase of his stake, and and the club today outlined what it’s all about. The actual “25% blocking state” has no immediate affect or impact on the daily club duties but has a say in any major decisions that have to be made.

Most importantly, a 25% holding would have no impact on the day to day running of the Club, on buying and selling players or any contractual or sponsorship agreements.

“There are some important decisions affecting the business that need shareholder approval, however the majority of these only require a simple majority of shareholders to vote in favour. These decisions, which are known Ordinary Resolutions, include the appointment of directors; the payment of dividends, approval of the accounts etc. There are some unusual decisions which require the approval of 75% of shareholders. These are very rare and are known as Special Resolutions and include winding up the company or changing its name.”

A Cultured Left foot talks more about this and Arsenal.com have the full press release.

Flamini Contract Update

Flamini has yet to sign a contract and it’s a worrying situation. I can’t figure out why he hasn’t signed and why the club has left this run for so long. I have to say his all action performances have been something that been a massive plus for us this season and he has been our most improved player.

Juventus today played down speculation that they are interested in signing him and hopefully it’s true and we hear that he’s signed a new 5 year contract very very soon… apparently Juve’s sporting director, Alessio Secco, has contacted Arsenal to let them know – how nice, how weird?

Secco says:

“There is nothing true. He’s a really good player, but we have never looked at him. Our chief officer has contacted the Gunners to reassure them. It’s a gesture that was needed considering the good relationship there must be between two big clubs like Juve and Arsenal, and that has been appreciated.”

Le Grove takes the words right out my mouth when he says:

“I don’t understand why it always seems to take for ever when signing a contract, how much? How long? and where do I sign? Doesn’t seem overly complicated does it?”

Arsenal vs Aston Villa Preview and Team News…

In yesterday’s blog, I outlined the team news for the game and there were a few things which needed clearing up, which Arsene has moved to clear up today. The return of Van Persie looks a little unlikely for Saturday, although we have Diaby back in the squad. I expect the starting line up to remain much the same as yesterday with Diaby taking Van Persie place on the bench… as our squad is so stretched, VP will surely be on the bench for Tuesday game in Milan.

The revised squad of 16 for Saturday’s game is:

Goalkeepers: Almunia, Lehmann
Defenders: Sagna, Senderos, Gallas, Clichy, Hoyte
Midfielders: Cesc, Flamini, Hleb, Diaby, Gilberto, Denilson
Strikers: Adebayor, Bendtner, Walcott

Arsene has played Diaby up front before, and his goal against Diaby shows he has an eye for goal, but at this moment, it’s more likely to see Walcott up front and Hleb and Diaby on the wings if needed.

Arsene spoke about Van Persie today:

“We will not rush Robin van Persie back but the news is quite good. It is very difficult to say. We go step by step. But he should come back into normal training, very, very quickly now. Maybe I am being a little over-cautious in my statements but I do not want to put any special pressure on him. But the fact that Eduardo is out is one more reason to [get him back]. Also he deserves that championship as well and that is another reason – to do it for him.”

Our injury list now comprises of Eduardo (broken leg), Alex Song (knee), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Kolo Toure (knee) Johan Djourou (groin), Emmanuel Eboue (suspended) with Van Persie not ready for selection.

My first team prediction for tomorrow is:

Almunia
Goalkeeper
Sagna
Right Back
Gallas
Centre Back
Senderos
Centre Back
Clichy
Left Back
Walcott
Right Wing
Flamini
Defensive Midfielder
Fabregas
Attacking Midfielder
Hleb
Left Wing
Adebayor
Stiker
Bendtner
Support Stiker

With Lehmann, Hoyte, Gilberto, Denilson and Diaby on the bench. Although Gilberto, Denilson and Diaby are primarily central midfielders, Gilberto can play in defence, Denilson on the right of midfield, Diaby on the left and possibly up front, so there is some variation on the bench… well, kind of…

Now doubt, Aston Villa do have the ability to cause us problems, and with Young, Agbonlahor and Carew, they do have a front three to give any team problems. We’re more suspect in the air than most teams and Villa will be looking to make the most out of that… Sagna and Clichy will be busy with the two quick wide boys, but we have to spend time concentrating on attacking than defending…

Let’s see what Arsene has to say at his press conference, more team news tomorrow.

Round Up

In other news, Young Guns has done a piece highlighting our players to watch in 2008. The blog talks about 5 young players to keep an eye on – Carlos Vela, Nacer Barazite, Pedro Bothelo, Jack Wilshere and Benik Afobe. A very interesting read and a brilliant insight to 2008.

Arsenal Youth talks about Rhys Murphy and his return from injury – he’s a player who scored 17 goals in just 21 games for the under 18s last season. Read more here.

Gunnerblog talks about the carling cup player of the year and how Eduardo deserves it on Merit and GunnersLive talks about Walcott and his plans for the rest of the season and the unity of the squad. The team went bowling and then to see Eduardo – it’s like one big happy family.

AllGoonerdUp talks about the love in our squad, the 8 points clear turning into 3 points and a little history of injured strikers and East Lower talks about our attacking options.

For those of you who are new to worldofarsenal.co.uk, some of the recent posts included a tribute to Eduardo and a look into the attacking void left by the absences of Eduardo and Van Persie in the run up to the league title.

Final Word

Well, it’s been a long day and just enough time for me to tell you that for those of you unable to make the game on Tuesday, Arsenal are holding a live screening at the Emirates. £15 gets you in and a cup of tea, but the atmosphere should be awesome… tickets are available from the Arsenal.com site or by calling this number: 0845 262 0001

Okay guys, I hope you all have a good Friday, not long now til we see the boys in action… ’til then!]]>

Wednesday's Early Blog: Arsenal's Attacking Options

02.27.08

Eduardo PictureEvening all, it’s Tuesday today (well it may be Wednesday and not today when you read this (although it’s always “today”) but today on Wednesday would be yesterday, of course  – unless you read this on Thursday, in which although today will be today, the today I am referring to will be the day before yesterday).

Let’s start again…

It’s Tuesday today and we’re all settling back into our normal routine, many things have happened and many things have been said, it’s time to review and reflect on a crazy few days. As reported yesterday, the official announcement from Arsenal is that we’ll probably see Eduardo back in action in about 9 months.

That’s great news, and a real bonus considering some of the reports saying that he may never play again.

Our Attacking Options

With Eduardo out for the rest of the season, there is now some concern for our attacking options. Let’s have a look at who we have got available and their contribution to the team.

Adebayor Emmanuel Adebayor
Ade has scored 19 league goals this season and has really shown his class. When Thierry left, everyone wondered who would be the 20 goal a season stiker. I will be the first to put my hands up and say that there were many a time last season when I thought somewhat negative thoughts about Ade… but I seriously proven wrong… he has been amazing this season. He has been a real gem in our attack, scored all sorts of goals (with a few crackers too). Arsene once again has proved that we should all trust him! Surpirsingly, Ade has not scored in the Champions League yet… Ade spoke today on his lack of CL goals:“When the goals come they will come. Of course that is what I am fighting for. But it does not worry me. I am not putting pressure on myself. Against Milan [at home], the ball did not want to go in.”I agree with him, they will come and a hatrick against Milan will do nicely

Something quite rememborable is Ade’s miss against Milan, and hopefully that’s something he resolves out in Milan with a few goals and a sterling performance. He has been talking about the game:

“We will go there with confidence. We know that beating Milan is something that will be important for us, our families and the fans, so of course our confidence will be very high. We will play our football, pass and move and if we have a chance to win the game that is what we will do.

Robin Van Persie Robin Van Persie
When Thierry left, everyone looked at Van Persie as one of the main players who would become an integral part of our team and give us the “va-va-voom”. He certainly showed promising signs of such a season when he scored an excellent goal against Inter Milan in the Emirates Cup earlier this season. But for the two and a half seasons running, we have seen VP get injured and stay injured for big periods of the season. No one thought he would get injured so many times this year, but I think VP will be the most disappointed player. Wenger recently talked about his return to the squad:“He is not a very long away from being fit at all but he lacks match-practice. Could he be in the squad? Maybe but don’t forget he has not played regularly for five months now.”He could return, but I won’t put my house on him keeping fit during the run in!

Robin could be in the squad this Saturday against Aston Villa, we’ll find out more tomorrow…

Bendtner Nicklas Bendtner
Nicklas has had a promising start to his Arsenal career with some good performances in both the cups and the league. He won hero status when he scored his first league goal against Sp*rs in the league match, which turned out to be the winner. Nicklas is good on the floor and good in the air. However, he does have the ability to fade in and out of games, and a few FA cup and Carling cup games he has really been anonymous. We have to remember that Nicklas is only 20 years of age and will not have the consistency this year as he will next. He spoke after the Birmingham game:“We need to recover quickly and start coming out on top again. We can’t keep thinking about this day because it has just been terrible.He has the ability, he has his biggest chance now.

Niklas will start against Villa, with our lack of midfield options, we simply can’t play 4-5-1

Theo Walcott Theo Walcott
“Young Theo” as he is known to some of us, has had a stop start season. He has shone in bits last season, but suffered a shoulder injury which affected him both physically and mentally. He has impressive for the England Under 21s and seems to play with a little bit less pressure when away with England. On Saturday, playing on the right wing, Theo really was the man of the match. He scored his first two league goals and was a different player in the second half. Overshadowed somewhat by the Eduardo injury. Although Arsene believes he will ultimately play as a striker, he says he is currently more apt“He looked more comfortable on the right. In the future he will certainly be a central player. But at the moment with his back to goal, he does not look completely comfortable yet. When we play on the counter-attack, he is very good though the middle. When we dominate the games, he is better on the flank still I feel.” He could play an increasingly bigger part in our quest for the title.

Theo will now get a run of games, we hope we can see a bit more of the cameo against Milan and performance against Birmingham.

Hleb Alexander Hleb
Alexander has played an instrumental part in our season so far. He has been our wizard in midfield. In a 4-5-1, Arsene has opted for him in a support striker role. Hleb will be the first to tell you he is a creator rather than a finisher. Hleb says that Arsenal have been set free this season (it’s a rather long quote):“When we play on the counter-attack, he is very good though the middle. When we dominate the games, he is better on the flank still I feel. Until last summer, we had just played for Thierry Henry. He was running the show. Whenever I got the ball, I was looking up, ‘where’s Henry?’ I did not care to go for goal myself! And if once in a while I dared to pass the ball to someone else, he would shout, ‘hey, I was free!’ When he was on form, we won everything. When he was off form, we lost. That has all changed. We are not a one-man band any more. Nobody complains when I risk some dribbling. That’s the reason for our good performances – we were set free.” I prefer to see Hleb ply he trade in midfield and have two stikers feed off him, but with away ties to United and Milan, you feel he could be used in this tactic more often.

Alex will most probably play as the support striker in the San Siro, but we will see him on the left of midfield this weekend as Rosicky and Diaby are both still out.

Giles Sunu Giles Sunu
Giles joined us this summer from french club Chateauroux. He is a talented youngster, a good finisher and a hard worker. He is only 16 at the moment, but has the body and stature of a 20 year old. He will be 17 this March. He is definitely one for the future, but wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the bench. Liam Brady said:“He’s an all-action centre forward. We had him come to a tournament in Italy in late April and he did very well. He’s hard-working and good on the ball.”Academy coach Steve Bould added, “Gilles is a really hard working lad. He runs the line all day long and we’ve been delighted with his attitude. Everyone’s taken to him and through shear endeavour he’s enamoured himself with everyone at the Club.”It may be too early, but then as Arsene knows, if you’re good enough you’re old enough.

Giles is pacey and strong, he may be the one who we see first, on the bench at least.

Rui FonteRui Fonte Rui Fonte
Rui Fonte joined us from his home town club, Sporting Lisbon last summer (2006 -yes, for an undisclosed fee). He is a Portuguese Under 21 stiker and has been a star of the Reserves and Under 21’s this season. He is a fast, skillful player, who turns 18 later this year. One for the future, but may be may called upon sparingly at the end of this season.“The game in England is faster and more physical than in Portugal. Playing in the reserves last season I do not believe I was quite strong enough and so I played a very mobile and quick give-and-go style until I gotused to the physical side and developed my strength. “One for the future… but may be called upon this season…

Rui has recently been called up to the Under 19’s match and definitely worth keeping an eye on his performances.

Carlos Vela For next season, Carlos Vela
Carlos Vela has been touted as the “next big thing”, “a whizzkid”, “something special” and I really hope he shows what he’s made of. Carlos is currently on loan at Osasuna and has been in good form, creating and scoring goals in the Primera Liga. It’s unlikely that he will be recalled from his loan spell or can be. But he will join the first team squad this summer and definitely has something special about him. Carlos himself is very excited at the prospect of coming to London.“I hope to join them as soon as possible. I will keep on working hard to improve to fit in quickly.”Although, we won’t see any of him in an Arsenal shirt this season, keep an eye on his performances in Spain.

Carlos recently scored one and created one against a very strong Athletico Madrid team.

A Cultured Left Foot talks about Vela’s recent comments, quoted here:

I lack everything. At 18 I don’t need to hear that I’m a phenomenon, a ‘crack’ – it’s not the case. I’m still growing. Every game sees my gain experience and learn things, and I see that in all aspects.

Here is an interesting blog that blogs only about Carlos.

Quick Round Up

Gunnerslive (formerly thirdGenn), has a nice picture from a mini Gooner, take a look! 

I’ve had a review of our attacking options in the final stretch of the season but here is a quick round up of all the other news in the papers and on TV today.

Cesc has been speaking to the news today and talks about how it would be unbelievable to win the league… I hope he believes it… 11 games to go… his recent interview in the Arsenal magazine reads:

“It is true that people were taking us out of the top four at the start of the season, even placing us in the middle of the table. I don’t think it added pressure, in fact it probably helped us more because we wanted to show everyone what we could do. It fired us up. We knew we had the quality, we know what we can do. The important thing is always not what others believe, but what you yourself believe.” – Read more here.

Meanwhile, good news, Mr Arsenal himself, Kolo Toure has recovered from his injury and although too short for Aston Villa, should make a return to the team for the game in Milan…. He is confident that we can get through this game and qualify, he may be the hidden gem, leader of the pack that is required for a game out there.

“I should be a bit short for Saturday against Aston Villa, however against Milan, fingers crossed, I will be fine. We are going there to qualify, Milan will be favourites in their stadium, however we have already won there heavily so they will be ready for us. We beat Inter 5-1 in the San Siro so we can do it to their fierce rivals.”

Finally, young goalkeeper Fabianski has been busy visiting the FACT charity and has been speaking on Arsenal.com.

Okay, it’s been one of those slightly longer than usual posts today… I hope you’ve finished that cup of tea by now!]]>

Happy Birthday Eduardo

02.25.08

Me and Eduardo have one thing in common - we share the same birthday. I'm sitting here fit as a fiddle having come back from my birthday dinner. Eduardo, on the other hand is in hospital recovering from his unfortunate weekend.

Public reaction has been good and bad. GilbertoSilver from Gunnerblog re-interated my feelings from yesterday’s blog in reaction to Stephen Kelly’s comments. Sometimes you back your team mates, but sometimes you just keep quiet.

Another team mate and former Gunner, Seb Larsson basically loses all the respect he gained with the winner at Sp*rs earlier this season with his comments. He calls Wenger childish and a sore loser. Not great timing Mr Larsson. Here’s the quote.

It’s idiotic and childish for Wenger to say things like that. Of course it was horrible to see. But everybody who knows Martinwould also know he would never hurt anybody on purpose and for Wenger to say things like that just prove he is a sore loser. Then again, his whole team were the same. Arsenal were in a bad mood all game. They were very unsportsmanlike.

I am determined to overcome injury

Eduardo, who turns 25 today, released a statement last night, which I have quoted here in full:

“I don’t remember the incident very well and it is not something that I want to see again on television or in the newspapers.All I remember is that when I fell, I looked down at my foot and it had turned the other way. The rest is just a blank. It was an unfortunate situation but these things can happen in football. I am unsure at the moment of the extent of the injury and how long I will be out of action for but I know that I won’t be able to play for Arsenal for the rest of the season or be ready in time for the Euros this summer. But I’m not worried about that. My concentration and determination is on making as quick a recovery as possible. I am determined to overcome this injury. I would like to thank the medical team here at Arsenal for their efforts as well as the staff at Selly Oak Hospital who carried out the operation on Saturday night. Everyone there made me feel as comfortable as possible. I would also like to say how touched I am by the many messages of support I have received and to be surrounded by my loved ones at this time.”

This statement sums up the attitude of Eduardo. He is a professional and he has so much passion and desire that he knows he will come back from this. You have to admire his sheer desire and will to not let this prevent him from acheiving his goals. Eduardo famously slept in a Croatian stadium as a teenager at sub-zero temperatures, he has got to where he got to by hard work and will power.

Eduardo moved to praised the Arsenal medical staff and the staff from Selly Oak Hospital, and it was confirmed today that if the medical staff had not been so quick in attending and treating the injury, Eduardo could have lost his foot. As these pictures show, he foot was virtually disconnected from the rest of his leg. Sorry for the graphic description, but in reality, this is what has happened. People some time forget how a brutal challenge can end someone’s career. Hopefully for Eduardo, that is not the case. The Gooner Forum talks about how the FA really need to take steps against this sort of thing.

I remember when Eduardo joined Arsenal this summer, his determination was apparent…

“He [Henry] is, in my opinion, one of the best strikers in the world, but I have my own path and I will try very, very hardfrom the first day on to fight for my place in the team and leave a mark of my own on Arsenal,”

This goal against Man City was a real gem, and an example of his quality.

BBC radio 5 live had an osteopath on their show today, who said:

“You can lose the foot, simple as. Once the foot dislocates like that, it can badly damage the blood vessels and it’s very,very serious. The foot needs to be relocated immediately or almost immediately to save it and emergency surgery is completely necessary. Potentially, the bones will heal but there’s all the other damage around the area, such as the ligament damage, the tendon damage, the soft tissue damage, the damage to the joint capsule. ‘He’s going to have to do an awful lot of work to regain full mobility and strength to the ankle to get him up to the standard of playing international football. Whether he can do that or not, I’m not sure.”

Well, there is a lot of truth in that, and most people are saying that recovering from this psychologically is half the battle. I must have read / watched a dozen interviews and discussions and I’m confident that Eduardo will come back stronger than ever.

There is a slightly twisted picture, not of Eduardo but of Martin Taylor, so if you fancy a twist to this blog, take a look. I don’t think it’s real personally and let’s all hope it’s not.

Flamini has been talking about how this incident will fuel the team’s hunger even further to win the title for Eduardo. I hope we win it for him. Flamini spoke after the game on Saturday and said:

“We wanted to win the title before but now we want to win it also for him. He is not going to be with us for a long time, so ofcourse we want to win it for him. We are still three points clear at the top but the way we have only drawn is going to be disappointing because there was an opportunity to win this game. We came back, we showed great character and I think that was the only positive thing from the game.”

Better news this afternoon, Eduardo could be running again in 6 months

Arsenal.com have been posting messages for Eduardo and you can send your messages to the web site or write to him personally.

Click here to email Arsenal and leave your message

You can read the messages here or as suggested, if you want to write to him, the address is:

Eduardo da Silva, c/o Arsenal FC, Highbury House, 75 Drayton Park, London, England, N5 1BU.

A club statment released today says Eduardo may be back in approximately 9 months, which is awesome news.

All being well, Eduardo will have his leg in plaster and using crutches for the next six to eight weeks. After that time, partial weight-bearing exercises will be scheduled into a slow rehabilitation process. It is hoped that Eduardo will be running again in six months time and making a full recovery after nine months. Eduardo will be released from hospital in a few days.

It’s amazing that he could come back so quickly. Full recovery in 9 months? – it may be a bit premature to estimate that; fitness levels will play an important part in the recovery too. But I’d say let’s wait and see what happens in the next few weeks. In 9 months, or even 10 months, would see him return next December. As East Lower says, The next pint you have, raise it to Eduardo.

A little something that Young Guns pointed out is that you can vote for Eduardo for the Carling Cup player of the season. Some people may think this is in “charity” due to the injury – but realistically, he scored 4 wonderful goals through out the campaign and they were all special.

Tomorrow I will be looking at our attacking options in his absence in more detail having briefly mentioned our options yesterday…

Just before I go, a shout out to all the fans of other teams, even our bitter rivals, who have taken time out to spare a thought for Eduardo; OnlyOneUnited said, “I wish Eduardo a speedy recovery and hope everything works out for him”, cheers guys, I’m sure Dudu would be touched.]]>

Sunday Round-up and Aftermath of the Eduardo Injury

02.24.08

For those of you who read my blog last night, well about 4am this morning, it was very much focussed on the Eduardo tackle. I was at the game on Saturday and was shell shocked for most of the day - the longer the evening went on, the more angry I became and by the time I wrote the blog, I was very much the incredible hulk.

Someone who I think it's a right idiot, is Stephen Kelly - sometimes you have to protect your team mates and sometimes you need to shut up. He has the ordasity to say:

“I think Mr Wenger’s comments after the game were so harsh,” said Kelly.

“That is disgraceful talk from Arsene Wenger. It is terrible. You know the way Martin is. He slid along the ground.  

Mr Kelly, you are an idiot – this is not “slid along the ground”.

Eduardo Initial Impact

It’s about a foot off the ground you idiot…!

Okay, anyway here’s more about what Mr Kelly had to say and he is really an idiot.

Eduardo has now been moved from the hospital in Selly Oak to London and will undergo further surgery in the next few days. He had exploraty surgery on the leg and full surgery on the ankle.

For those of you have no problems keeping your food down, there are two links which show the graphic detail of his injury.

Eduardo Leg Break: Pictures (WARNING) and clearer pictures on The Sports Granola.

It has been confimed as a “double compound fracture”.

Double Compound Fracture 

This picture and more details of the fracture and how bad it really is can be found on
http://thegroundsman.wordpress.com/2008/02/24/the-question-how-long-will-arsenal-be-missing-eduardo/

For the sentimental of you out there, here’s an awesome little tribute to him: his season in pictures. The latest information, as mentioned above sees Eduardo back in London and Slaven Billic has commented on the

“This is horrible. The fact he won’t play at the Euros is less important. Most important is he recovers as soon as possible and resumes his career.”

Meanwhile. Croatia caption, Niko Kovac said:

I can’t believe this happened. Also, I can’t believe such brutality still exists in football. I don’t even want to speculate about the time of his (Eduardo’s) absence. Let’s wait for the doctors to give their opinion.”

Well, time to get a KFC for me and the lads. I’ll be back in a bit to continue this post…

And back to the blog and a continuation of the Sunday Round-up. Carlos Vela scored this weekend for Osasuna against an Athletico Madrid team which contained two former Premiership in Diego Forlan and Jose Reyes. Reyes is starting to look a better player than last season, but still somewhat off the standard that made Arsene sign him many years ago. I will always remember the introduction to the Arsenal with two goals against our rivals Chelsea… memories hey?

Here’s a round-up of our loanees on Arsenal Youth. And, here’s a match report from Young Guns.

The injury to Eduardo has highlighted our striking options and with Van Persie out or at least not available for selection, we’re not to two recognised strikers in Bendtner and Adebayor. Young Theo Walcott can be added to that category obviously, but with Rosicky & Diaby still out and Eboue suspended for another two games, he and Hleb are the only “wide” options we have – neither actually being a real winger. Diarra would have had a serious amount of games if he stayed but that’s another conversation.

Til tomorrow, have a good day!]]>