Tonight:
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I'll turn on style against England, says Eduardo
Wayne Veysey, Evening Standard20.11.07
Unused at club level. Indispensable for his country. No, we are not talking about Peter Crouch but his opposite number on the Wembley field where England hope to realise their Euro 2008 dreams tomorrow evening.
Eduardo represents the biggest obstacle between England and a safe passage to Austria and Switzerland.
Arsenal supporters have not seen the best - or much at all - of the Croatia striker since his summer transfer from Dinamo Zagreb.
He has started just six of Arsenal's 19 games this season and only two in the league but there have been enough glimpses of his predatory finishing skills and clever movement to back up Arsene Wenger's view that his incredible goalscoring record in the mid-ranking Croatian league can be replicated in the top tier of English football.
The manner in which Eduardo dispatched two goals against an admittedly obliging Sheffield United in the Carling Cup last month was the clearest evidence yet that he is a natural born killer in the box.
One was a left-foot rocket, the other a textbook low finish. Neither goal was afforded much in the way of celebration but this is the man who is the main reason Croatia have already qualified for next summer's Euro 2008 finals.
He has scored 10 goals in the qualifying campaign, including a looping header in the 2-0 win over England, the quality of which was overlooked in the stampede calling for goalkeeper Paul Robinson's head.
Four days later, Eduardo pickpocketed a hat-trick in Israel as Croatia grabbed a surprise 4-3 win. The international goals have continued to flood in for the Rio-born striker this season, another five to embellish a Crouch-esque scoring return of 13 goals in 20 games - and now he wants more at Wembley.
He said: "England suffered a big blow when we beat them in Zagreb but they still have a strong squad. But we will go to attack and England will be the same even though they only need a draw.
"I am an Arsenal player and of course I would prefer England to go through, but this match will not just be an exhibition for them."
Eduardo's slow start at Arsenal can be partly attributed to the settling-in period familiar to most foreign imports and the consistent excellence of the team in their remarkable start to the campaign.
Even the absence of Robin van Persie through injury in the last month has not presented much in the way of opportunities for Eduardo, with Wenger preferring to utilise the outstanding form of Alexander Hleb in a free role behind Emmanuel Adebayor. The Arsenal manager has hinted that the 24-year-old Croat might have to wait until January to figure in his first team plans.
Eduardo struggled to make an impression in treacherous conditions against Macedonia on Saturday and was withdrawn after 55 minutes. He insists that Croatia will aim to pay for that aberration at Wembley tomorrow night.
Eduardo said: "This game is very important because to play in London at Wembley is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I want to create a good image. We know we have qualified for Euro 2008, but we won't be going to Wembley just for a holiday."
Events in Tel Aviv at the weekend coupled with the individual quality of the Croatia players should wipe away any complacency. The big occasion tends to bring the best out of Arsenal's little front man.
England have been warned.
