Arsenal act to replace Henry

Just a week after bidding adieu to their favourite son, Arsenal have moved to replace Thierry Henry with Croatian international Eduardo Da Silva. The signing is a typical Arsene Wenger buy; at 24 he is young, fast and full of potential. And at 25-1 with Sporting Odds you can back him to become the Premiership's top goalscorer next season. Da Silva certainly has all the makings of a Golden Boot contender. He broke the Croatian Prva Liga scoring record last season with an impressive 34 goals for Dinamo Zagreb, has notched eight goals in 14 internationals for Croatia and even scored in last season's UEFA Champions League qualifier against Arsenal. That the Gunners will create plenty of goalscoring opportunities for their new hitman next term goes without saying. It was not the making of chances but their execution that proved their Achilles heel in a campaign hindered by long-term injuries to Henry and Robin van Persie. Wenger's steadfast refusal to reinforce a dodgy defence - other than drafting in yet another reserve goalkeeper - also means that 'gung-ho' will, quite literally, be the way forward once again. The key questions to ask here are a) whether Da Silva will adapt to a tougher league, a different country and new team-mates b) whether he will start ahead of Emmanuel Adebayor, Van Persie, Theo Walcott and Nicolas Bendtner and c) whether he can outgun experienced Premiership campaigners such as Didier Drogba, Darren Bent and Michael Owen or even such pedigree newcomers as Claudio Pizarro and Fernando Torres. There are too many unanswerables here, but at 25s he is worth an each-way squeak especially as I believe the answer to the first two questions are yes. I would also take a close look at Owen (14/1) and Dean Ashton (66/1). These are two players easily overlooked because they were out injured last season but both are proven goalscorers at this level, who, just as importantly, will play if fit. Conversely, Dimitar Berbatov (8/1) is too stingily-priced for one who may suffer from the intense competition for places at Tottenham next season and Drogba (4/1) is both unlikely to hit the extraordinary heights as last season and, like Carlos Tevez (20/1), may not even be a Premiership player next term. 2007/08 Premiership top goalscorer Verdict: 1pt e/w Eduardo Da Silva @ 25/1 (Sporting odds) 2pts e/w Dean Ashton @ 66/1 (Coral) 2pts e/w Michael Owen @ 14/1 (Coral)