Striker Da Silva gets work permit

Da Silva scored against England for Croatia

Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva has been granted a work permit by the Home Office following a hearing on Thursday.

The Gunners signed the 24-year-old Brazilian-born Croatian international striker from Dinamo Zagreb in July.

His application for a work permit went to an appeal because he had not met the criteria of 75% of international appearances over the past two years.

But Thursday's appeal proved successful and he celebrated by scoring the winner in a 2-1 friendly win over Lazio.

News conference: Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger

Niklas Bendtner netted the opener at the Amsterdam Arena before Goran Pandev's equaliser for the Italians.

606: DEBATE Great news. Looking forward to seeing him in action thelastbroadcast

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, admitted he had been "optimistic" of a positive outcome on Da Silva's appeal.

"In our first attempt they strictly applied the rule," he said at the weekend.

"Eduardo has played 50% of national team games for Croatia. I consider it a fantastic achievement at the age of 24 - and he played every single game in the last year."

The 24-year-old, who is thought to have cost Arsenal £8m, moved to Europe at the age of 15, and took Croatian nationality in 2002.