2009-02-17: Against Cardiff City (FA Cup replay)

Wenger: He has the mental strength of a mountain

Dear Supporter,

Eduardo made a great comeback on Monday night against Cardiff and I am not surprised he played well and scored twice.

I didn't play him as a reward for his excellent work; it was because in training over the past few weeks he has done extremely well. He made a big step forward two weeks ago when he found sharpness in front of goal and in his runs and he got rid of his apprehension in the tackles.

Of course it is nearly 12 months out for him and he has been extremely strong mentally during that time. I could never see one minute of doubt in his mind or one minute where he said 'no, I don't want to do it'. He always wanted more and this guy is small but has the mental strength of a mountain.

He is intelligent, talented and he understands what is happening quickly. He responds very quickly to every situation. That is why he is a striker. He is a quiet boy. He is very, very quiet - he is focused but of course he was very happy on Monday night.

Eduardo celebrated his second goal with our fitness coach Tony Colbert because I think Tony has spent more time with Eduardo than with his wife. So perhaps he deserves that kind of hug. The physios and doctors have done a tremendous job with him.

Of course everybody's happy for Eduardo but I believe it was a good team performance against Cardiff. We were dynamic, convincing and mobile. We played the kind of football we love to play and it is good to see us play with the handbrake off. We are now consistent, we are stable defensively, and we added tonight our drive going forward.

Cardiff gave us a hard time at Ninian Park but I felt on Monday that the speed of our passing gave them a big problem. It is easier to play our kind of football at Emirates Stadium than it was at Ninian Park.

Something in the Cardiff team, when we played them over there, made me think they have real belief and real quality. I didn't see any weak position in their team, where you think they aren't good enough. But on Monday they were dominated and they had to chase the game after we scored which was much more difficult for them.

We are very consistent and we are on a very strong run. We promised ourselves we would give everything until the last day of the season and, although Man United look untouchable at the moment, we will not give up. Our basic target is to get in the Champions League which means the league is our priority.

Thanks for your support.