Eduardo da Silva's Arsenal Career in Pictures

"He came to us when Henry went/
Eddie, Eddie/
He scored more goals than Darren Bent/
Eddie, Eddie/
He broke his leg but now he's back/
And Darren Bent will still be cack,/
Eduardo da Silva, Arsenal's No. 9"

So went one of the Arsenal's fans more favored chants in homage to Brazilian born, Croatian striker Eduardo Alves da Silva.

Today, it as all but been confirmed that Eduardo will leave North London for Ukraine after only three seasons.

However, during this time he has become a firm fan favorite thanks to his outstanding goals, commitment, and bravery in returning from a career threatening injury.

Here, we salute Eduardo and wish him well as he tries to rekindle his form with Shaktar Donestk.

2007: Eduardo Signs for Arsenal

Eduardo signed for Arsenal in July 2007 after a fee believed to be in the region of £8 million was agreed with Dinamo Zagreb.

Eduardo had been with Zagreb for six years, during which he received Croatian citizenship and took up the opportunity to play for the European nation over his birthplace, Brazil.

During his time in Croatia, Eduardo made 123 appearances for Dinamo where he scored 83 goals.

It was his goals to game ratio, assist count, and potency as a goal poacher that convinced Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to bring him to North London.

Eduardo Plays His Part As Arsenal Launch Title Challenge

Prior to the start of the 2007-2008 season, Arsenal had been written off by many pundits and fans because of the volume and quality of player that had left in recent times.

However, Arsenal got off to a flier with a little help from the Croazilian.

Eduardo made his debut in the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers before netting his first goal for the Gunners in the UEFA Champions League qualifier against Sparta Prague during a 3-0 win.

With Robin van Persie suffering from injury, Eduardo got more and more playing time in Wenger's 4-4-2 formation beside Emmanuel Adebayor upfront.

Over the hectic Christmas period the goals began to flow for Eduardo as he netted twice against Everton, scored against West Ham, Burnley, and Manchester City.

Along the way he made a number of assists as Arsenal topped the Premier League pile in February '08.

However, his run was to be stalled in the most brutal of fashions.

Arsenal vs. Birmingham 2008: Eduardo Suffers Horrorible Injury

There are more graphic photographs out there but this has been chosen for two reasons.

One, nobody can stomach the sight of Eduardo's bone as it pokes out through his skin and sock.

Secondly, this is for those who argued that Martin Taylor should never have seen red, take a look at where his studs are placed. Since when is it okay to go in studs up on the opposition's shin?

Now, many have claimed that this was Eduardo's fault because he "was too quick for Taylor."

Forgive one for her bluntness, but if Eduardo was "too quick" for the defender, then said defender shouldn't be playing at the highest level of English football as he evidently wasn't good enough.

I digress.

With Arsenal flying high, they traveled to St. Andrews and an encounter with Birmingham.

Just minutes into the game Eduardo suffered a broken left fibula and an open dislocation of his left ankle. So graphic was the injury, Sky Sports decided against showing replays.

Eduardo was immediately rushed to hospital, and thanks to the Arsenal medics treatment on the field, it was judged that his leg would not need to be amputated.

The Long Road to Recovery

In the immediate aftermath of the injury, club officials were more concerned that Eduardo would be able to walk again, never mind kick a ball in anger.

Eduardo, however, proved he was one hell of a fighter.

While his teammates played out an up-and-down season, Eduardo set about making himself fit for the following season.

Arsenal arranged for a book of support from the fans to be sent to Eduardo while his visits to the Emirates was always met with the loudest of cheers.

Return to Action

After 10 months out of the game, Eduardo returned to football in a reserves match against Portsmouth at Underhill.

A crowd of 2,285 people turned out at Barnet to witness his comeback, including the likes of Arsenal legends Tony Adams and Dennis Bergkamp.

He played 45 minutes and showed no hesitancy in going in for a tackle, much to the onlookers delight.

At a packed Emirates, Eduardo returned to the Arsenal first team squad for an FA Cup game against Cardiff. All were just delighted to see him in the famous red jersey again, but a goal would be extra special.

Not content with just being on the pitch, Eduardo wanted to find the back of the net.

He did twice, once from a header and the other from the penalty spot as the "Eduardo" chant swept around the Emirates.

Just What the Hell Did He Do?

Even as one sat in the upper tier at the other end of the ground, it was easy to tell he had done something outrageous.

In between the cheering and waiting for the action replay on the big screen, the questions were floating around as to just how he scored, and what part of his leg he scored it with.

The replay confirmed Eduardo had scored a "heel volley" from a fine Alex Song cross.

One of the finest goals the Emirates has seen in its short lifetime.

Champions League vs. Celtic: Did He Dive?

After a wonderful return, Eduardo took to the field for Arsenal against Celtic in the final qualifying round of the Champions League in August.

In the 28th minute, Eduardo seemed to go down in the box after appearing to make no contact with Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc. He duly took the penalty and scored as Arsenal cruised to a 5-1 aggregate victory.

Some argue he dived, other say Boruc glanced him, more say he jumped over the tackle in fear of suffering another bad injury.

Whatever way you look at it, the hounding he received from all sides afterward was disgraceful.

Even if everyone agreed that he dived, he certainly didn't invent it which seemed to be the claim coming from the Scottish and English media.

Eduardo received a two-match ban from UEFA who decided in this case that they could overturn a referee's decision (the referee watched the incident on tape and was adamant he was correct in calling a penalty) despite their rules stating otherwise.

The Arsenal lawyers saw that this decision was quickly overturned.

Along with UEFA's hypocrisy, it was not all too surprisingly joined on the bandwagon by the British tabloid media.

The FOLLOWING NIGHT after Eduardo's incident, Aston Villa's Ashley Young threw TWICE himself to the ground to win TWO penalties for his side in the UEFA Cup.

Never got a mention!

2009-2010: Eduardo Signs a New Contract But Loses Consistency

On the 18th November 2009, Eduardo signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal.

However, be it effects from the injury, effects from the witch hunt, or the change in formation, Eduardo didn't look his old self last season.

While the first two may be more mental than anything, Wenger's decision to change to a 4-3-3 formation hasn't suited Eduardo who looks more at home in a traditional 4-4-2 formation.

Towards the end of last season, Eduardo had already found his chances decrease and saw his chances further limited by the summer arrival of Marouane Chamakh.

Despite Wenger telling Eduardo he was part of his plans, the striker has decided to seek his fortune elsewhere with a £6 million fee being agreed between Arsenal and Shakhtar Donestk.

He was left out of the opening preseason friendly against Barnet and is not on the list of players that traveled to Austria.

Eduardo has passed a medical, agreed on terms, and all that is needed now is official confirmation from both clubs.

Thanks Eduardo and Good Luck

So after just three years in North London, Eduardo is on the move.

In 41 starts, and 26 substitute appearances, Eduardo scored 20 times for the Gunners, many of them pretty special.

Eddie was a massive fan favorite around the Emirates and many are sad to see him go. It had been hoped that he would regain the class he had shown early in his career because there is no doubting his class.

However, all things considered it may be best for both sides that Eduardo is on the move.

No doubt every single Gooner wishes him well and hopes that he gets back to scoring ways.

Eduardo is one of the good guys and deserves to have some successful years in front of him.

Maybe just maybe he'll be back at the Emirates this season in the Champions League, where he will get the send-off he deserves.

So long Eduardo da Silva, Arsenal's No. 9.