Arsenal striker Eduardo admits it will be difficult to challenge for the Premier League title this season.
Striker realistic over Gunners' title chances
Arsenal striker Eduardo admits it will be difficult to challenge for the Premier League title this season.
The Gunners finished fourth last term, 18 points adrift of champions Manchester United, and key striker Emmanuel Adebayor has since departed the club.
Kolo Toure is set to follow Adebayor to Manchester City and Eduardo realises the main priority for Arsenal must be to secure another top-four finish.
Asked about winning the league, Eduardo told
Sportske novosti: "It will be very hard, really very, very hard.
"Now Kolo Toure is also leaving, so I don't know.
"But of course Arsenal is a club which is always looking for the top spots. I think our main goal will be to be in the top four next season."
Stronger
Man City have been tipped to break into the UEFA Champions League qualifying spots after a summer of heavy spending but Eduardo is not sure about the balance of Mark Hughes' squad.
He explained: "They are stronger, no doubt, but we have to wait and see how thing are going to work.
"For example, Adebayor and Santa Cruz can't play together. Tevez can play behind strikers and he even helps defending, but those two just can't play together.
"I would say the same as for us - it will be hard for them to win the Premier League."
Eduardo only returned to action towards the end of last season after a year out with a broken leg, and a series of niggling injuries continued to limit his involvement.
He is now back to full fitness and aims to enjoy a successful campaign, saying: "I hope to play a lot, I admit it.
"I really needed good preparation as I don't remember when I last completed a full pre-season without serious problems.
"My muscles, which caused me a lot of problems last season, are different now, much stronger."
Croatia
Eduardo has been named in a Croatia squad for the first time since suffering his horrific injury 18 months ago.
He has been included in Slaven Bilic's 20-man party for the World Cup qualifier against Belarus on 12th August, along with Tottenham duo Vedran Corluka and Luka Modric and Portsmouth's Niko Kranjcar.
Squad: Stipe Pletikosa (Spartak Moscow), Vedran Runje (Lens); Vedran Corluka (Tottenham), Ivica Krizanac (Zenit St Petersburg), Josip Simunic (Hoffenheim), Hrvoje Cale (Trabzonspor), Dejan Lovren (Dinamo Zagreb); Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Ivan Juric (Genoa), Ognjen Vukojevic (Dinamo Kiev), Nikola Pokrivac (Monaco), Jerko Leko (Monaco), Danijel Pranjic (Bayern Munich), Luka Modric (Tottenham), Niko Kranjcar (Portsmouth), Ivan Rakitic (Schalke); Ivica Olic (Bayern Munich), Mladen Petric (Hamburg), Mario Mandukic (Dinamo Zagreb), Eduardo (Arsenal).
