So then, we have finally signed a player after all this time and im pretty sure that nobody expected it to be Da Silva in all honesty as i know i didnt. All these names flying about like Anelka, Tevez, Torres etc etc and then Arsene pulls out a signing that pretty much everyone was aware of. Ill be honest, i dont know a great deal about our new signing but im sure we will hear alot more about him once the new season is up and running. The 24 year old moved from his native Brazil to Croatia at the age of 15 and as well as making a name for himself at club level in Croatia, it seems that getting the chance to play for the Croatia national team has also done the 24 year old more good than bad. He enjoys a prolific record at international level with seven goals from 12 games for his adoptive country, including a header against England in their 2-0 Euro 2008 qualifying defeat in October. Also last season for his club Dinamo Zagreb he was the top scorer in the Croatian domestic league with 34 goals in 32 games which again is a great record no matter what league you play in. His total goal scoring record for Dinamo Zagreb before he left for North London stands at 71 goals in 100 games.
The fee was rumoured to be around the £16m mark but it now looks like its around the £8m mark which if you compare to what he has done for his club and country, then thats a bargain. Darren Bent worth £16m ?!, Dont make me laugh !
Of course there is no way that this man can fill the boots of Henry as he has not been bought into the club for that reason, it proves that Wenger sees this man as a very good striker that can give us some extra quality up front if needed. Maybe he will become a all time great of Arsenal and only time will tell but its far too early for that sort of thinking.
Here are a few vids of our new man in action -
14 comments:
You should create your own blog, you're too good for this one mate
You couldn't help but take the Spurs swipe could you? :p
In any event I do think he could be a productive signing, very much like Benni McCarthy in a way, unspectacular, but will get you goals and can win you matches, there is a certain amount of risk involved, but there always is.
Sorry Wildcard, i had to do it once mate you know that !!
although I don't know much about this guy, he will be awesome in the 07/08 season. Wenger has pulled another one of his masterstrokes.
Fingers crossed you are right Ed. From what i have seen of him, he looks quality and nobody can argue with his record. Roll on August to see Dudu in the Arsenal shirt.
I don't know what to think, really. I'm worried by the difference in quality between croatian league and EPL. 34 goals in 32 games sounds great but it's hard to say if he will be a success in EPL.
what is more comforting is his international goal scoring record - 7 goals in 12 games. that is actually really decent especially since in internationals a lot of teams play very defensive strategies and it's not so easy to score goals.
I watched the highlights of the Dinamo Zagreb CL qualifiers from the start of last season and he actually gave Dj Rou and Kolo some real problems, and his goal against us at the emirates was really good - a decent finish from a half chance - something a lot of our strikers (read Adebayor) had trouble with last season.
anyways I can't wait to see him play for us - i hope he'll get his work permit before the emirates cup.
dan / afusa
Good post there
I think this might be another one of Wenger's genius master strokes.
This man is known for his finishing and thats pretty much what we've been lacking. I hope he can step it up as a poacher. Also I hear from my relatives in Croatia that hes not a bad passer either.
I think our club is really benefiting from this.
first thought was, what is wenger doing wasting his money, but then he scored 34 goals a season and he looks good.
nice one wenger
Top post there mate. Id like to see this guy play for us. He seems to have the finishing that we were missing all season. And soon it could take shape and we could be scoring goals for fun.
The new season seems to be building up pretty well. I cant be more excited to see how arsenal do :)
he scores the kind of goals we never scored last season, tap ins from 5 yards :)
top scorer and top Assist last season yes i know its in a inferior league but he also does it in the International stage, i reckon he will be a star.
I'm a dinamo zagreb fan, hes done well for us but its a massive step up from the croatian league which may be to big for him, theres been many games where hes been below par only to be saved by scoring a penalty.
I hope he does well but I don't believe hes ready for a big club like Arsenal yet.
We'll see soon enough
i believe arsenal versus barnet is on July 15
so its just a matter of time
should be an interesting signing!! Keep up the good work with the blog guys
Thanks andy. Would be even better if you too could contribute :)
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