First Gunners start for Eduardo

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger gave a debut to Brazilian-born striker Eduardo at Ewood Park.

The £8m signing for Dinamo Zagreb came in for Emmanuel Eboue, who has a ankle injury.

With Tomas Rosicky also suffering from knee problem, Theo Walcott returned to the side.

Blackburn boss Mark Hughes made two changes to the side that defeated MyPa in the UEFA Cup second qualifying round first leg game on Thursday.

Brett Emerton and Matt Derbyshire were drafted in for Andre Ooijer and Jason Roberts.

Benni McCarthy, last season’s top scorer, was on the bench after suffering concussion in the victory against Middlesbrough on the opening day.

Blackburn: Friedel, Emerton, Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Bentley, Savage, Dunn, Pedersen, Santa Cruz, Derbyshire. Subs: Brown, Ooijer, Kerimoglu, McCarthy, Roberts.

Arsenal: Lehmann, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Walcott, Flamini, Fabregas, Hleb, Eduardo, Van Persie. Subs: Almunia, Senderos, Denilson, Song Billong, Bendtner.

Referee: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire)