Arsenal What If? What if Eduardo Da Silva Had Stayed Healthy?

Arsenal’s recent history is full of moments of disappointment. So many points when the team fell just short of the mark. Any Arsenal fan will tell you they’ve fantasised about what would have happened should some of these moments have gone slightly differently and in this series, I’ll try to put some of those fantasies into words by asking “what if?”

When Arsenal travelled to St Andrew’s to face off against Birmingham, they were favourites to win the league. They were five points clear at the top of the league with 26 games left and were firing on all cylinders, having lost only one game all season and were on a run of four straight wins. The injury struggles of Robin Van Persie had threatened a mid-season dry-up in the goal department but the good form of Emmanuel Adebayor and the emergence of new signing Eduardo Da Silva were filling the gap eloquently, with Cesc Fabregas also in excellent form.

Eduardo had been a low-cost signing from Croatia who impressed Arsene Wenger in a Champions League qualification game after scoring for Dinamo Zagreb. He didn’t arrive carrying heavy expectations and struggled to break into the team for the first few months of his Arsenal career until strong cup performances against Sheffield United and Blackburn convinced Wenger the Croatian international had a spot in the starting XI.

Eduardo went on to contribute to goals in the league in games against Everton, West Ham, Birmingham, Fulham, Man City and Blackburn in a run of six successive starts in which Arsenal won five and drew one. The pick of the bunch being an acrobatic effort against Man City which doubled Arsenal’s lead at the Etihad, a game which they would go on to win 1-3.

Eduardo was in fantastic form and was showing the Arsenal fans signs of finishing ability and flair that they hadn’t seen since Thierry Henry.  Wenger knew it and the Arsenal fans knew it, Eduardo was something very special and someone who could lead the line for Arsenal with consistency and confidence, for years to come.

Eduardo was given his seventh successive start at St Andrew’s, but he would only last three minutes. As Eduardo advanced with the ball, he knocked it past Martin Taylor who lunged in. The defender connected with Eduardo’s lower leg and caused his ankle to buckle, the bones shattering instantly. Eduardo was stretchered off the pitch, Taylor sent off. While most in the stadium hadn’t realised the severity of the injury at first, the faces of Eduardo’s Arsenal teammates told the story. Cesc Fabregas holding his head and manically urging the medics to hurry onto the pitch, Alexander Hleb burying his face in his hands.

The impact on Eduardo would be career-defining. He would return from injury the following February but never was the same player. He struggled with fitness and consistency and eventually left Arsenal in 2010, moving to Ukraine to play for Shakhtar Donetsk. He would return to the Emirates in the same year, in a Champions League group game, and score a consolation goal which was greeted by a standing ovation from the home fans who sung his name as though he was still wearing an Arsenal shirt. A truly heart touching moment which really summed up the effect Eduardo had on the Arsenal fans in his short time he had the chance to inspire them.

The immediate impact on Eduardo’s teammates was staggering. The team was, understandably, shaken and conceded a late equaliser at St Andrew’s to draw 2-2. In a testing moment, the Arsenal team needed a leader to take control. Their Captain, however, chose this moment to react in the worst way and sulked in the centre circle before arguing with his team in the dressing room. The team needed their Captain more than ever but he was nowhere to be seen.

Arsenal would go on to win one game out of their next seven at a crucial part of the season. They would win their last four but the damage was already done. Manchester United took the chance and won the league, finishing a mere four points above Arsenal who had slipped to third, behind Chelsea. A run of four successive draws against Birmingham, Aston Villa, Wigan and Middlesbrough had portrayed the impact of Eduardo’s injury when only two wins from these games would’ve seen Arsenal lift the league title.

But what if Martin Taylor had missed Eduardo’s leg that day? Or had decided to back off instead of lunging in? Most certainly they would’ve won the game. Eduardo was in fantastic form and Arsenal had scored 11 in their last four league games, conceding just one. Arsenal almost certainly would’ve gone on to win the league, also. Arsenal’s fixture list for the rest of the season wasn’t overly difficult and with the brilliant form of Eduardo and the team in general, it is expected they would’ve got the points needed.

If Arsenal had won the league in 2008, it is almost impossible to predict what would have happened over the next years. In reality, the next five seasons were relatively poor for Arsenal. They managed to finish in the Champions League positions consistently, yet were never close to winning the title. They struggled with injury issues, consistency, keeping hold of their players and a lack of power in the team. Had they won the 2008 league it is possible they could’ve signed a higher calibre of player and kept hold of their best with the extra funds in order to challenge for the title in these seasons but it is extremely hard to say. How the development of players such as Robin Van Persie would’ve been impacted by Eduardo is also to be considered.

In terms of Eduardo himself, there is no telling the heights he could’ve achieved. A clinical finisher with intelligent movement, brilliant technical ability and immense skill. Eduardo had the potential to be spoken about amongst Arsenal’s best ever strikers. He was injured just a few days before his 25^th birthday and could’ve played at the top level for Arsenal for possibly seven years after the 07/08 season. Had he achieved these heights, of course, there is always the possibility he would’ve left Arsenal, but this is not to be known.

What is for certain is that on that February day in Birmingham, Arsenal were robbed of an amazing player, one which could’ve changed Arsenal’s future dramatically. Whether this would’ve been this case or not, we will never know but it won’t ever stop Arsenal fans and certainly Eduardo himself lying in bed wondering, ‘what if?’