Robin van Persie thinks that the return to fitness of Arsenal team-mate Eduardo da Silva comes at a crucial stage of the season.
The former Dinamo Zagreb player has not featured for The Gunners since suffering a horrific injury in the draw with Birmingham City back in February, but is now ready for first-team action again.
Eduardo started for the Arsenal Reserves on Tuesday evening as they beat Portsmouth Reserves 2-0.
It might be too soon for the Croatian hitman to be involved in Sunday's Premier League showdown with Liverpool, but van Persie is excited to have the lethal striker back ahead of the festive period.
"He is fine. He has been working really well with Tony Colbert. For him, it has been a really long way," van Persie told Arsenal TV.
"I have spent some time on the sidelines, so I know how it feels. You need to take it step by step and he is doing that. He is coming into our sessions quite often lately and last week he had a few finishes that were just like the Eduardo from nine months ago.
"He still moves the same way and if you look at what happened to him, that is a really positive thing. I think the way he finishes and the way he plays makes him very unique.
"We need him, because he has his own style of playing and I cannot compare anyone with him. The closest that comes to him is maybe [Carlos] Vela - they are both quick, both really clever in front of the goal, and know where the game is won.
"It is always good to have different types of strikers in the squad."
| Eduardo's return against Portsmouth reserves was live on Arsenal TV, which is part of the Setanta Sports package. Click here for details on how to subscribe. |