Injury-plagued Eduardo seals £6m Shakh switch
STRIKER Eduardo ended his ill-fated spell Arsenal last night by completing a £6m move to Shakhtar Donestk.
The Croatian international agreed a four-year deal with the Ukrainian club after passing a medical.
Brazilian-born Eduardo joined the Gunners from Dinamo Zagreb for around £7.5m in July 2007 and made an encouraging start until suffering a horrendous broken leg against Birmingham in February 2008.
Sadly, he never quite rediscovered his best form, amid concerns of psychological scars from the injury, and Eduardo slipped down the Arsenal pecking order, prompting Shakhtar to throw him a career lifeline.
Meanwhile, Gunners defender Thomas Vermaelen claims he can forge an impressive partnership with new signing Laurent Koscielny.
“He is a good defender, he puts pressure on the attackers all the time and he is tight with his marking,” Vermaelen said of the Frenchman.
“I have played alongside him a few times in training and that has gone well. He is a good defender.”
Vermaelen, meanwhile, captained Arsenal to a 3-0 friendly victory at Sturm Graz last night. Samir Nasri netted a first-half double before substitute Henri Lansbury added a third.