The wounded soldier returns as Arsenal prepare for a Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk
It was an image that will forever remain etched in the memory of those who witnessed it. It was the image of a young Arsenal striker writhing in agony on the football pitch, his foot dangling from his leg at an unnatural angle
following a potentially career-ending tackle from Birmingham’s Martin Taylor.
It was an incident that was deemed by TV producers as so unpleasant that they decided not to show any replays of it. There were obvious doubts as to whether Eduardo would ever return to the football pitch.
But return he did, and he did so with a bang as he scored two goals in a comeback that was nothing short of euphoric, against Cardiff exactly one year after the incident. The courage showed by Eduardo to battle one of the worst
ever football injuries suffered on the football pitch earned the Croatian international an eternal place in the hearts of the Arsenal faithful.
Tomorrow, only a hundred days after bidding farewell to a club that nurtured the youngster through the most difficult time of his career, Eduardo will make an emotional comeback to the Emirates, but this time, he will play in the
colours of mega rich Ukrainians Shakhtar Donetsk in a Champions League group game.
Looking forward to the game, Eduardo said that it will be a very emotional return for him as he has never played against any of his former clubs and he never thought that he would play against Arsenal so soon after leaving the
Emirates.
Eduardo says that it will be very strange for him to play against a set of players with whom he had been training with just over three months ago. However, he says that he is a professional and he now gives his 100% to Shakhtar
Donetsk. He says that he knows he will play against his old friends, but in his words, there are no friends on the football pitch and he will try and win the game for Donetsk.
The 27-year-old says that he is very happy at his new club, where he plays in a state of the art 50000-seater stadium, alongside a squad that boasts six Brazilians and his international teammate Darijo Srna.
It will be an interesting match at the Emirates on Tuesday as it will be a match between two sides that believe in attacking football and fluent short passing interplay.
Romanian international and Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu says that in eastern Europe, Donetsk are known as Little Arsenal, but he knows that his side are not Arsenal as the London outfit is one of the best clubs in the world. At
the same time, though, he believes that his side will not give anything away cheaply in the match and Arsenal will have to fight for every inch they want to gain on the Ukrainians.
Like Arsenal, Shakhtar are also a very stylish side and like to play fast-paced football, but their opponents on Tuesday are a side that progressed to the finals of this competition in 2006. However, Shakhtar will hold no fear
as they also have been European Champions, winning the UEFA Cup in 2009.
Eduardo’s inside knowledge of Arsenal will be very helpful for the Ukrainians as he will look to guide his new side over his previous employers, but his part in the game could be very limited as the striker’s last 5 appearances
have come from the bench as the striker is still trying to rediscover his magical touch in front of goal.
The other match in Group H will be played between Braga of Portugal and Partizan Belgrade.
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