Our friend in Brasil, Emerson Vicente, adds

• Edu joined Corinthians professional ranks in January 1999, having been with the club for about 16 years. He spent a year as a reserve and then graduated to the first team upon the departure of Freddy Rincon.
• Edu took Rincon's place in the centre of midfield. He is left-sided, more defensively minded than Rincon but also quite capable of joining in with the attack.
• Despite his young age and lack of first-team football (less than a year), Edu plays like a much more experienced player.
• Edu and Silvinho are good friends.

Emerson also has something interesting to say about our other alleged Brasilian target Edmilson (see here). Apparently the fans aren't all that enamoured of Edmilson. But his work ethic and adaptability make him a big hit with the coaches. Quite a typical Wenger target, then.

The gossip is that Arsenal abandoned the attempt to sign Edmilson because of work permit problems. Whether that's true or not, one has to wonder how easy it'll be to get a permit for Edu, given his lack of experience (and caps). Fingers crossed!