Arsenal acted yesterday to lift some of the gloom that has hung over the Emirates Stadium since the departure of Thierry Henry to Barcelona last month. Arsène Wenger, with a resounding statement of intent that his team will not be left behind in the transfer market or on the pitch, moved to sign Eduardo da Silva from Dynamo Zagreb for a fee of about £8 million.

The signing of the Brazilian-born Croatia striker is a riposte to those who have cast doubt on Wenger’s future at Arsenal as the manager begins the process of reshaping his young team in the absence of Henry.

Fast and elusive, Eduardo will probably partner Robin van Persie up front. Eduardo is the type of poacher who could address the one significant flaw in an Arsenal team who create chances but fail to put the ball in the net often enough. He is familiar to England supporters as the player whose looping header helped Croatia to defeat England 2-0 in a qualifying match for Euro 2008 last October.

Arsenal have been watching the 24-year-old for some time, but they finally made their offer at the weekend. Wenger, who has returned after a holiday in Italy, will strengthen the squad further when he tries to complete the signing of Bakari Sagna, the defender, for about £6.2 million from Auxerre this week.

Eduardo is, perhaps, not the sort of name that Arsenal fans may have been expecting when the Frenchman said he would bring in a “maximum of two super-class” players, but Wenger’s record demands respect. The Arsenal manager prefers to mould younger players rather than buy them at their peak and Eduardo has proved to be an outstanding finisher. He scored 73 goals in 104 matches for Zagreb, including a neat left-footed strike at the Emirates Stadium in a Champions League qualifying match in August. His 34 goals in 32 appearances set a record in Croatia last season.

Eduardo flew to London last night from Kapfenberg, the Austrian city where Zagreb have been training. Nicknamed “Dudu”, he is expected to complete a medical today and sign a four-year contract.

“I’m happy but at the same time also sad to be leaving Dynamo, but I am proud to be joining Arsenal,” he said. “I have been playing very well for the last three years and have been rewarded with trophies. People have been telling me for a while that it’s time to leave Dynamo. I had reached the maximum level possible in the Croatia. I’ve often thought about moving to a big club in Europe and sometimes I was sad when I scored for Dynamo because I knew that moved me a bit further from Zagreb.”

Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion had also made inquiries about him this summer and PSV Eindhoven had an offer of £4.4 million turned down. Eduardo left his home town of Rio de Janeiro at 15 to join Zagreb, where such was his desire to succeed that he kept quiet about a fractured foot to play and secure a contract.

His goals earned him the player-of-the-year award at the club three years ago and he has become the key player for his adopted Croatia, for whom he has scored seven goals in 12 appearances. “He is not only the top scorer, but he has a lot of assists,” Slaven Bilic, the Croatia coach, said. “He can definitely cope with the pressure and will score most of the goals.”