emmanuel eboué warned arsenal fc to "be careful" when they host fellow group h pacesetters fc shakhtar donetsk as the visitors "have good brazilian players" in their squad.
emmanuel eboué is expecting fc shakhtar donetsk to present arsenal fc with their biggest test in the uefa champions league so far this season, citing the visitors' abundance of south american talent as the principal threat to the gunners' place at the group h summit.
arsène wenger's team lead shakhtar on goal difference in the section, the clubs having both defeated sc braga and fk partizan in their first two matches. unlike arsenal, however, who are five points adrift of premier league leaders chelsea fc, shakhtar are setting a fearsome domestic pace courtesy of 11 wins from 13 matches. indeed, of the pitmen's 25 top-flight goals, 15 have been scored by the six brazilians among their midfield and forward ranks.
"we know shakhtar and are aware they have some good brazilian players," said eboué, who is likely to continue at right-back in the absence of the injured bacary sagna. "they've played very well in their two games – against braga and partizan – and won, like we have. we need to be careful because they have good players. this morning we talked about it. it will be very difficult but not only for us, for both teams."
the size of the visitors' task could yet become greater if wenger decides to restore cesc fàbregas and theo walcott to midfield. the pair have not played since suffering hamstring and ankle injuries respectively last month but trained with the rest of their team-mates on tuesday, much to eboué's relief in light of an absentee list which also contains laurent koscielny, thomas vermaelen, robin van persie and aaron ramsey.
"for us it's very important to get our captain and theo walcott back because they're important players for us," explained the 27-year-old. "of course, we have missed them a lot. they will give us something more because we've got some players who are injured at the moment."
should eboué retain his place in defence, he is likely to encounter former team-mate eduardo. the croatian international striker left north london for shakhtar in the summer after scoring eight goals in 41 league appearances during a three-year stay which was interrupted when he suffered a broken leg in february 2008.
"eduardo is still our brother and we love him a lot because he was great when he was here," added eboué. "i respect him, like all the players do, and we are so happy for him to be coming back to play here."
1. arsenal fc...3...3...0...0...14...2...12...9 2. fc shakhtar donetsk...3...2...0...1...5...5...0...6 3. sc braga...3...1...0...2...2...9...-7...3 4. fk partizan...3...0...0...3...1...6...-5...0
the hosts took their tally to 14 goals from three encounters as they racked up another heavy win to maintain a perfect record in group h.
arsenal fc were rampant once again on home turf as they added another five goals to the six with which they overwhelmed sc braga to establish themselves as unchallenged frontrunners in group h. having made fc shakhtar donetsk their third successive victims, the gunners lie on the verge of the knockout phase yet again.
the ukrainian side's joint heaviest defeat in european competition was something of a surprise considering they had also started out with consecutive wins, plus two clean sheets. they lapsed defensively when alex song opened the scoring, conceded a smart second to samir nasri before the break and, after cesc fàbregas drove in a penalty on the hour, their resistance drained away, facilitating goals for jack wilshere and marouane chamakh before eduardo scored a popular consolation on his return to north london.
shakhtar initially defended with composure at the back, happy to retain possession in their defensive third. few alarms rang out, and certainly not when a right-wing corner drifted towards andriy pyatov. however, the goalkeeper fumbled and, after johan djourou had got a toe to it, song forced it into the net.
chamakh then offered nasri the chance to make it two, but while the frenchman connected well enough, he aimed straight at pyatov. when henrik mkhitaryan and răzvan raţ both unleashed shots on goal, shakhtar's fans might have assumed they were beginning to mount a threat, but those thoughts were immediately dispelled as song launched a cross which nasri controlled with a sublime touch, paving the way for an emphatic left-footed finish.
the visitors introduced douglas costa and soon after mkhitaryan played in luiz adriano, but Łukasz fabiański came to the rescue with a crucial save. arsenal put the issue beyond doubt when adriano's tug on djourou enabled fàbregas to cap his return after injury with a penalty conversion. the arsenal captain departed soon after, while eduardo came off the bench to huge acclaim from his former supporters.
the croatian international had no chance to influence things before arsenal had made it four, however, wilshere combining fluently with tomáš rosický before lifting the ball over pyatov. shakhtar were heading for a braga-style defeat and their focus waned, with chamakh enjoying time to check his onside status following nasri's scooped pass and then slotting in number five. at least eduardo was able to end the night with a smile, running onto a cross to drive home. the arsenal faithful cheered that one too.
