Eduardo Has Tottenham In His Sights

Arsenal host neighbours Spurs in the first-leg of their Carling Cup semi-final on Wednesday night, and their Brazilian-born Croatian striker Eduardo says he is prepared for the particular demands of a high-intensity local derby.

The Croatia international is enjoying a rich vein of form - six goals in his last four games in all competitions.

And he compared the north London derby to playing for his former club Dinamo Zagreb against their arch-rivals Hadjuk Split.

"The matches are similar and both full of intensity - but the fans in the North London derby seem to be more civil to one another, while in Croatia the segregation has to be very strictly enforced,” he said.

"I think my experience in matches like this does help when we come up against the likes of Spurs, so I'm looking forward to the Carling Cup game and hoping to feature again."

Eduardo is forging a productive strike partnership with Nicklas Bendtner, and believes they can help take Arsenal through to a second successive appearance in the final. Arsenal beat Spurs in the semi-final last year, too, before losing at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium to Chelsea.

The Eduardo-Bendtner partnership clicked at Turf Moor on Sunday, when the Croatian scored the first before setting up Bendtner for the second in the 2-0 FA Cup third round victory over Burnley.

"We've played together in The Carling Cup and Champions League, so we knew what to expect from each other,” said Eduardo.

"We have a decent understanding and I know what a big talent he is. We complement each other well."

And Kolo Toure, who will miss the Spurs clash because of his African Cup of Nations duty with Ivory Coast, believes Eduardo can carry Arsenal while he is away in Ghana.

"Eduardo's finishing is unbelievable. It seems that every time he gets a chance he scores - and he also manages to score at very important times for us. His composure is outstanding when he is in front of goal,” said Toure.

"He has now played with Nicklas for some time and they know each other's games very well and they look a very good partnership.

"It is great for us to have them playing so well, especially as we have Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor ready to come back - it means we will have four top-class strikers."

Meanwhile, it is reported by Setanta Sports that young Arsenal forward Vincent van den Berg has returned to his homeland, the Netherlands, to join Eerste Divisie side Go Ahead Eagles on loan for the rest of the season.

The 18-year-old joined the Gunners from Heerenveen in the summer of 2006 and made 15 reserve-team appearances last season.