Eduardo hopes to be back in action for Arsenal when they kick off their FA Cup campaign at the start of next month.

The striker played his first game after 10 months out with a broken leg in the reserves' 2-0 win over Portsmouth at Barnet last night.

Eduardo was happy to have finally got 45 minutes of competitive action under his belt again, coming off at half-time as a precaution after feeling a twinge in his hamstring.

The 25-year-old is clearly taking it one step at a time following a remarkable recovery from what looked like a career-ending injury.

However, he feels a first-team return against Plymouth in a fortnight is a realistic target. “I hope I can do more, and that next time will be better,” said Eduardo. “I just felt something in my hamstring, but in two weeks, I will be all right.

“I need more training and games, and then I will be ready to play. I just want to play like I did before, but maybe I can be better.”