Eduardo blooms as Arsenal spring back

Arsene Wenger's side carried the midweek momentum of closing the gap on fourth-placed Aston Villa into the FA Cup with a display that included flashes of the scintillating football that has been absent for so much of the campaign.

Although Carlos Vela opened the scoring with a goal of considerable class, it was Eduardo who provided the inspiration in attack that was encapsulated by his magnificent second-half strike.

And the return of Theo Walcott as a substitute after a four-month absence due to shoulder surgery helped promote the feeling that Arsenal haven't been in better shape for some time, just as Wednesday's Champions League trip to Roma hones into view.

The Italians will palpably pose a much more expansive threat than Burnley did yesterday but comeback kids Eduardo and Walcott showed enough here to give Roma serious food for thought.

"Eduardo looks to me far more mature now in his game than when he arrived," said Wenger, whose side will defend a 1-0 lead in Rome. "His finishing was absolutely superb.

"I had a report from Roma's 1-1 draw with Udinese on Saturday that they protected a few players - Francesco Totti and Mirko Vucinic. They will play with a different spirit on Wednesday, I'm sure of that.

"I haven't made the team yet but Walcott and Eduardo have a good chance of being in the squad. We are going into the final sprint. For us it is important to keep all our targets alive. We are slowly getting all our players back and that can be decisive.

"The positive is we didn't concede in the first leg. We know we cannot only go there and defend. We want to attack and try to score."

Whether Eduardo is quite ready for Wednesday night is debatable but his impact is undeniable. After a goalscoring return from a broken leg against Cardiff and a subsequent minor hamstring strain, the Brazilian-born Croat gave Arsenal their imaginative sparkle of old in the final third to set up an FA Cup quarter-final meeting with Hull.

The 26-year-old gave the home side an impudence, arrogance and confidence in attack to match the quality that has never been in doubt during the Gunners' faltering campaign.

After Vela had turned Burnley defender Clarke Carlisle with ease and dinked a delightful finish over onrushing goalkeeper Brian Jensen, his strike partner produced a contender for goal of the season.

Alex Song, who put up his best performance for some time, chipped a pass to the back post where Eduardo volleyed the ball off the outside of his foot into the top corner before Emmanuel Eboue added a late third.

It represented a stunning expression of how a player who is expected to be easing his way back into the game after a career-threatening injury is in fact fast becoming the creative catalyst for his under achieving team-mates.

"For me it is a little bit of a beach goal," said Wenger. "It looked like he meant it. He sliced the ball. He is a surprise finisher and an intelligent player. He has a short backlift and makes quick decisions on what to do.

"I believe when you look at goalscorers, they are moving in the box when everyone is standing. He has that. You understand now why he kissed the fitness coach; one, that he worked hard with him and two, that he doesn't have to see him any more because he suffered so much with him.

"It is instinct and he shows you finishing is instinct. The way he has come back is a tribute to his personality and to how well he has behaved in the last nine months. He has never complained and I think that is a big example in our world."

With captain Cesc Fabregas, Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Adebayor close to their respective returns, Arsenal are building up a vital head of steam as the season's climax approaches.

Should a safe passage to the Champions League quarter-finals follow this stroll into the same stage of the FA Cup, there is no reason why considerable consolation may be found at the end of a turbulent campaign.

"We have many targets," Wenger added. "It is possible to win two pieces of silverware because we are in there. After that what is important is we give everything to make it happen."

And if Arsenal beat Blackburn next weekend, they can move above Villa in the Premier League for the first time since late November with victory at Newcastle on 21 March.

Which, incidentally, is the first day of spring.