And there is more good news for Arsenal after the club confirmed that the injury sustained by defender Kieran Gibbs while on England Under 21 duty was not as bad as first feared.

The 26-year-old, who joined the Gunners from Dinamo Zagreb in July 2007, has been rewarded for his form since recovering from a badly broken leg.

He has now scored 18 goals in 48 first-team appearances for Arsene Wenger's team.

After the striker put pen to paper on his new deal, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said: "We're delighted that Eduardo has signed a new long-term contract with us. Eduardo is a special player with huge talent and natural goal scoring ability, and we're all so happy that he has committed his future to Arsenal Football Club.

"We have also seen in his come back 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 said: "I am very pleased to have signed a new long contract with the club. I'm very happy and I hope to stay at Arsenal for as long as I can.

"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. I went to Croatia last week and everybody was telling me Arsenal play the best football in Europe at the moment. I agree with that.

"We feel we are strong now this season and we're all going to give everything to win trophies."

Meanwhile, the club confirmed that left-back Gibbs's suspected broken foot injury was in fact just bruising and he will only be missing from first team action in the 'short-term'.