Dominic Fifieldtalks to a young Croat who after a slow start has adapted brilliantly to the rigorous demands of the English game
Eduardo da Silva glanced up at the mural flung across the far wall at the mention of Thierry Henry. The scene depicts The Invincibles of four years ago, a squad delirious on the turf at White Hart Lane with the Frenchman conducting the celebrations with glee.
"Henry is still a great player, though maybe when they sold him last summer he wasn't at the same level as he had been," reflected the Croat. "He wasn't able to do any more what he used to do all the time. But he'd been here for years and had made his own history with this club. I've just arrived."
Comparison is unhelpful between strikers, though Eduardo is just as intent upon etching his name into this club's folklore. A player who slipped in under the radar last summer in a €10-million deal from Dinamo Zagreb has found his feet, his form that of a man impervious to the pressure of supplying the goals so often guaranteed by Henry in the past.
Emmanuel Adebayor and Cesc Fàbregas may attract the plaudits more regularly but Arsène Wenger, used to seeing recruits taking time to bed in, has acknowledged that the naturalised Croat has progressed more quickly than he might have expected.
Not that Wenger should be surprised. At 24, Eduardo has grown used to upheaval in his fledgling career and, where most would have floundered, he has retained an ability to flourish. As a youngster growing up in Bangu, an impoverished and occasionally brutal favela outside Rio de Janeiro, he had drifted through the youth teams at CBF Nova Kennedy before top-scoring in the annual favela schoolboys' championships at 15.
That event was attended by scouts from Dinamo who, impressed, offered him and another youngster, Leandro, an opportunity to further their careers on the other side of the world.
His colleague lasted six months before returning to Brazil.
Eduardo, too, was sent back to Bangu Atletico Clube for a spell on loan but Dinamo were anxious to retain him. And the player recognised the potential rewards on offer.
"Bangu is a deprived area, a difficult place to grow up, but most Brazilian players come from poor suburbs like that," he said. "It toughens you up and you learn to appreciate things more as a result.
"All young boys are practically born with a football attached to their feet in Brazil and everyone has the same dream: to be the next Ronaldinho or Ronaldo and succeed as a professional footballer.
"It is hard. Everyone thinks the same way so, when Dinamo made their proposal, I had to take my chance. It was an opportunity I had to take. Moving to a new country, not knowing the language, is hard but you have to earn your keep.
"I needed to make the most of what I could do and that was a chance to step up. I grew up quickly with the move but what I went through at 15 helped me when I moved from Zagreb to Arsenal. It was worth it."
Eduardo established himself as a goal poacher of rare quality in Croatia, scoring 34 times in 32 games last season and registering the first ever hat-trick in the country's bitter meeting of rivals Dinamo and Hajduk Split.
He took Croatian nationality in 2002 and Slaven Bilic, who thrust the youngster into his under-21s and later gave him his chance at senior level - with dramatic consequences for England and Steve McClaren - believed the forward "could play in any team, even Manchester United, without a problem".
This afternoon he will take on United in the fifth round of the FA Cup with his reputation established.
If there was a slow start to his time in English football, it was largely due to Wenger's desire to ensure the new arrival was physically ready for the English game. Robert Pires had gasped from the bench at the ferocity of his first Premier League match, a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland.
Eduardo was pitched into a trip to Blackburn in August, though it was not until he helped dismantle England at Wembley three months later, the striker's fluid running terrifying panicked defenders, that confidence flowed freely into his game.
"Everyone knows English football is physical, so I'd been working hard ahead of that game with Blackburn," he said. "But it was still tough. You have to be strong and stand up to it but I never had any doubts about this move. If you want to make the most of your life and grab every opportunity, you have to go for it. Perhaps I gained confidence from what happened at Wembley but I never felt under more pressure.
"It helps that the manager understands. When someone like him says he is counting on you, it is incredible. When I arrived here, no one expected me to do what Thierry Henry had done but, even so, all I heard was that Henry had left, [ Fredrik] Ljungberg had left and that we were going to finish even below Tottenham Hotspur. Everyone had put us fifth in the table but the players never thought that."
Eduardo's contribution, including 12 goals to date, has helped make a mockery of such pre-season predictions. Arsenal have been resurgent in the Premier League but they have awkward fixtures in the FA Cup and Champions League over the next five days by which their season will also be judged. They are challenges Eduardo is relishing.
"Manchester United will be tough, a chance for us to lay our cards on the table, a classico," he added. "Then next week we have Milan, a team with huge experience."
The sense of anticipation is clear. This is a player seizing his opportunity.
