The former Arsenal striker discusses the Gunners' Premier League title charge under Mikel Arteta heading into the final stages of the season.
Former Arsenal striker Eduardo gives his verdict on the Premier League title chances of his former club, who are the favourites in the football betting to lift the trophy for the first time since the 03/04 season.
After that Fulham performance, do you think Martin Odegaard can be considered one of the best midfielders in the Premier League?
Arsenal are top of the league and having a great season. In my opinion, Odegaard is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. But one of the players I have been most impressed with is Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The way he penetrates the opposition with his movement is great, and it must come from being part of the Pep Guardiola university before. The things he does on the pitch really confuse the opposition.
Odegaard, for me, is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, but again Zinchenko is the one who has impressed me the most.
Do you think Arsenal will win the Premier League?
I can’t guarantee that Arsenal will win the league, although there’s a huge chance. But if you stop and rewind a little bit, I think a few seasons ago Liverpool were 10 points ahead of Manchester City and City still won the league. So if Arsenal want to win the league, they need to be very focused and can’t afford to drop any points like Liverpool did.
Anything can happen, it can either go south or it could go really well where Arsenal win the league with games in hand. I just hope they win it, they have a massive chance.
Have you been impressed with Jorginho so far, and do you think he deserves to start?
It’s hard to decide who should start in Arsenal’s midfield right now. Jorginho is a top player and has experience. Arsenal have had a great season and I think he will get his chance to play more. Only Arteta knows the best time to play him. He came in midway through the season so it’s harder to claim his spot. But I have full confidence from Arteta that he will play him when he thinks it’s the right time.
He has started a few games and I have full confidence he will play him when the time is right.
You previously said you can’t remember Martin Taylor visiting you in hospital. How do you feel towards him now that time has passed?
The tackle from Martin Taylor is a delicate subject, and in the past I haven’t really liked talking about it. But it has been 15 years now, so now I’m more comfortable talking about it. It was a serious injury, and after it happened I was taken to the hospital for surgery. I received messages that he came to visit me but I don’t remember as I was in the process of post-surgery, I was in and out. I vaguely remember what happened at that time.
I remember a year later when I returned to the pitch, the club told me that he sent an email to the club wishing me the best of luck and that he was happy to see me play again.
Towards Taylor, I have no regrets or anything bad to say about him. These things can happen to any athlete, to any football player and sometimes you get these injuries. I have no ill-feeling towards him, he’s a human being like everyone else and these things happen. I can’t say it was his fault and I have nothing bad to say against him.
How do you reflect upon your career after that injury?
It’s difficult to describe my career after that injury. It was like I was a damaged car, where I was taken to the mechanic, fixed, and the car was driving well but people had doubts. Thankfully I played for a decade after the injury for different clubs in Europe and Brazil. For the Croatian national team I had a better scoring record considering I was playing less minutes, but anything after the injury became an excuse.
If I missed a pass, everyone pointed back to the injury. I thought I was playing better than before my injury but some people always look at the negatives and I thought some of the goals after my injury didn’t have as much impact as before
Next month marks 14 years since Arsenal drew 4-4 with Liverpool at Anfield. What did you make of that game, and what was it like playing with Andriy Arshavin?
I remember when Arsenal drew 4-4 with Liverpool at Anfield. I didn’t play unfortunately, I was on the bench, it was in 2009/08 and I had only come back towards the end of that season. That game was brilliant for the fans and both clubs, there was a lot of expectation for that game and a lot of media hype. I think Arshavin had the best game of his football career. I think the game will go down as one of the best in Premier League history.
Arshavin was different to the other guys. At the beginning he came in as a big signing, Arsenal’s record signing at the time. I remember reading the news and how he was criticising things outside football, like restaurants and barbers, which was strange. But in the dressing room he was a great guy, always putting a smile on people’s faces. He was friendly, a really cool guy.
I really enjoyed Arshavin, he was a great person and a great player.
You also played with Emmanuel Adebayor. Then in 2010, you played in the game at Manchester City, where he ran over to Arsenal fans to celebrate in front of them. What did you, and the other players, make of that?
Adebayor always seemed to be happy and positive. He always joked around and relaxed the dressing room. I think he had internal problems with the club, which I know nothing about. I think he did that celebration out of adrenaline but I think it was a mistake.
It was disrespectful to us Arsenal players and the backroom staff. Adebayor knew us all personally and the problems with the club should have been separated, and perhaps he should have shown a little bit more respect to the players and staff.
If he had apologised, everything would have been fine. I have nothing against him though, he was a great player and a great person.
Arsenal have reportedly been linked with Brazil prodigy Vitor Roque. What can you tell us about him and would he make a good signing?
Vitor Roque is a great player. He has been a starting player for Athletico Paranaense since he was 17 years old. It is a great club who I had the pleasure of playing for. They develop great players. Top clubs in Europe also want him as well as Arsenal.
Roque has also been selected to be a part of the Brazilian national team, so I hope Arsenal sign him as I have no doubt that he will help Arsenal achieve their objectives.
Arsenal have also been linked with West Ham’s Declan Rice. Do you think he would be worth breaking their transfer record for?
I think Arsenal will never break the bank for a player that they do not think is worth it. For example, for Mykhailo Mudryk, Arsenal submitted an £80m bid for him, but Chelsea bid £100m. Clearly, Arsenal did not think the price tag was worth it. However, if they were going to spend £100m on Declan Rice, that must mean the club thinks that he is worthy of that value.
Is there anyone else you would like to see Arsenal sign this summer or an area of the pitch you feel they need reinforcements?
This season Arsenal are playing really well. They may sell some players and if they do, they will surely need to replace them. However, if Arsenal keep the same team next season, I don’t think they will go crazy in the transfer window. They may buy a young player and mould him to fit their ideologies, but we will have to wait and see.
Who was the toughest opponent you came up against?
Cristiano Ronaldo under Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Didier Drogba, John Terry, Frank Lampard.
Who was the best teammate you played with?
The best teammate I played with during my career was Cesc Fabregas. In training he wouldn’t miss a pass. He could read the game five seconds ahead of everyone else. All you had to do was make the move and he will find you. It’s no wonder he had a great career at Arsenal.
Your fellow countryman Richarlison recently aired his frustrations. Should he consider his Tottenham future?
Sometimes it is hard to hit the ground running at a new club but Richarlison has good qualities and has also been in the Premier League for such a long time. Maybe the World Cup affected him as well as his injury and he hasn’t been able to mentally prepared himself to deal with it.
As a Brazilian, I understand that the Brazilian mentality means it is hard to adapt. Players tend to get frustrated when they don’t get enough minutes on the pitch, and a lot of Brazilian players behave that way.
But If I was him, I would wait until next season because I believe he will get his chance. He should be patient and be private with his own frustrations. If you express your frustrations to people, it could have a negative impact on your team whether it is to the media or the dressing room. He should keep his head down, work hard and I believe he will get his chance.
