I haven’t spoken to Arsenal team-mates about horror leg break, fans say if I didn’t get injured we’d have won the league
ARSENAL are edging towards winning the Premier League for the first time since the 2003-04 Invincibles.
But former striker Eduardo, 40, has recalled how the Gunners could have won the title in 2007-08 if it wasn’t for his horror leg break.
The Brazilian scored four goals and provided three assists in seven games after Robin van Persie was injured in January 2008.
Arsenal were top of the league, but then in February Eduardo suffered a stomach-churning injury away at Birmingham City.
The striker would be out of action for nearly a year, while the Gunners conceded in stoppage time to draw the game 2-2.
Arsene Wenger and Co then won just one out of their next six games to see the title slip out of their grasp.
The Gunners eventually finished the campaign in third, four points behind champions Manchester United, and two points behind Chelsea.
Recalling that season, Eduardo told The Athletic: “My injury was very serious, so after the surgery, I got the cast on and flew back to Brazil to begin my rehab.
“I wasn’t there to be able to speak to them (the team) about what went wrong and haven’t spoken to them in the years since about it.
“All I know is that we drew four times and Manchester United took over.”
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Eduardo revealed that fans believe Arsenal would have won the Prem that season if it wasn’t for his injury.
He added: “I still receive messages from fans about that season who say if I hadn’t got injured, Arsenal would have won the league.
“I always hear this message but it was just unfortunate that it happened to me. It makes me sad that we didn’t win any trophies at all as that was a strong team.
“I think about it to this day as we had a great chance.”
Arsenal once again have a great chance to win the title – currently sitting eight points clear of Manchester City having played a game more than their rivals.
And Eduardo heaped praised the current squad, comparing Mikel Arteta’s side to Wenger’s cohort from the 2007-08 campaign.
He said on the league leaders: “You can see they are all playing for the team and have adopted Arteta’s mentality and vision of football.
“The atmosphere in the team looks amazing, which is crucial if you are to win the title. Arteta looks like he has won over the dressing room as the players really respect him.
“Watching Arsenal play reminds me of my team under Wenger. They are on the same road as we were in 2007-08.
“Then, the whole world used to say that, apart from Barcelona, Arsenal played the most beautiful football — and they are doing that again now.”