I suppose the statement by Henry that he left because Dein had departed was new information of sorts, (it had been aired elsewhere), and if it was true must be the most bizarre leaving excuse ever given by a footballer. The press have had a field day, and enjoyed rubbing Arsenal noses in the dirt. The loss of Henry proves the club is financially bankrupt and has no ambition.

Meanwhile the press and internet have linked Arsenal with tens if not hundreds of players, even including Anelka, and Obfemi Martins.Others have preferred the Gunners are doomed to fail without Henry approach – dragging out Drogba to drone on about the impending doom. Meanwhile Arsenal fans have waited for news, any news, and began to doubt Wenger's existence. Why didn’t he reveal himself to the braying pack and down them with one of his brilliant quips?

Wenger Hits Back I did suggest on the AT forum that the great man was hiding until the hoo ha over Henry had faded, so that the pitch was clear for him to announce his brilliant coup. Sure enough, the club has announced a major signing, and Wenger’s tormentors did not get to hear a whisper about it. Not one predicted it, not even a hint. Last week the Henry story dominated Sky Sports News, now it’s Da Silva. No doubt Wenger is chuckling over his vin rouge tonight. What other surprises might he have  in store?

Now when Wenger meets the press he can talk of the future, and forget Henry. Of course they will all say Da Silva cannot replace Henry – but then who can? Darren Bent? Living on that insular little island that is the United Kingdom some will ask who is he? Perhaps they should ask Paul Robinson. Enjoy here.

 There again just think back to the first (European) competitive game at the Emirates. What an irony that the scorer of that goal will now play for Arsenal. There must be pub quiz question there to be worked on Others will say that the Croatian League is not that good, and how good would the English Premiership be without its overseas players?  How is it that the Croatian league produces a national team that has embarrassed England over and over again. Then there is the ghost of Davor Suker, the man who scored 11 goals from 15 starts, but only 1 in 24 from the bench, in his time at Arsenal. So he needed to play the full game, and perhaps never quite fitted in at a difficult time.

However, to return to Eduardo Da Silva how good is he? Well he is a natural born scorer with 73 goals in 104 games for his club, and 7 in 12 for Croatia. Although the Croatian League is not a top league it does have many skilled players. Will he be able to score as prolifically in the Premiership? Van Nistlerooy (Why the long face? You just won La Liga?) made the transition from Dutch football to the Premiership. Da Silva has shown he can score at the top level with Croatia, and against Arsenal. He may need a little time, but Arsenal have other strikers, and if they do as well, or as badly,  as last season, and Eduardo gets 10 to 15 then the Gunners will be amongst the top scorers in the Premiership.

Finally, how big is the gamble? Dinamo Zagreb are claiming they got £16 million for him, but sources close to Arsenal say that it is only half of that. I am sure Wenger has spent the smaller sum, he likes to gamble but not with 16 million. Some newer fans forget that Henry was a gamble, he was not an established striker when Arsene bought him, nor was his fee that high, not even back then.

This is not one of Wenger's teenage buys; Da Silva is 24 and an experienced International. It is intended that he play a major role, that should help take the pressure of Walcott.

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