Eduardo commits himself to Arsenal until 2014

London:

Croatia striker Eduardo da Silva signed a new five-year deal at Arsenal and said he is finally back to full fitness after recovering from a career-threatening injury.

There were fears that Eduardo, who joined on a four-year deal in July 2007, would never play again after breaking a leg in February 2008.

Since returning after a year out, the 26-year-old Eduardo has played sparingly but is expected to be used more because of injuries to Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner.

Eduardo is now tied to Arsenal until the end of the 2013-14 season, a person familiar with the situation said. The club was only officially describing it as a "long-term" contract.

"I hope to stay at Arsenal for as long as I can," Eduardo said. "This period is good for me now. I feel strong in my body and I feel ready to play 90 minutes every three days if it's needed."

Eduardo has scored 18 goals in 48 matches for Arsenal since joining from Zagreb.

"Eduardo is a special player with huge talent and natural goalscoring ability, and we're all so happy that he has committed his future to Arsenal," manager Arsene Wenger said. "We have also seen in his comeback from injury, Eduardo is a human being full of courage, bravery and commitment.

"His full recovery from this injury is a testament to Eduardo's character. We all look forward to enjoying Eduardo's performances in an Arsenal shirt for a long time to come."

Eduardo is yet to win a trophy with Arsenal, but his side is second in the Premier League standings, five points behind Chelsea with a game in hand.

"I went to Croatia last week and everybody was telling me Arsenal play the best football in Europe at the moment," he said. "I agree with that. We feel we are strong now this season and we're all going to give everything to win trophies."

Arsenal also received positive news Wednesday over Kieran Gibbs' injury, with the defender set to return to action inside two weeks.

Gibbs bruised his right foot playing for England in an under-21 match at Lithuania on Tuesday but should now be fit for Arsenal's match against Chelsea on Nov. 29.