DENILSON: A little bit of Gilberto, a little bit of Rosicky, and an awful lot of Cesc
657 comments February 2nd, 2007
In the build up to the Carling Cup Final, Gunnerblog will be highlighting some of the stars of our second string, and pointing out the potential they possess. Today we start with arguably our most impressive performer on Wednesday night, Denilson.
When Arsene Wenger signed Denilson, he described him as a cross between Gilberto and Rosicky, two players seemingly at opposite ends of the midfield spectrum. However, what he was alluding to was Denilson’s all-round qualities: a remarkable trait which brings him much closer in style to another young playmaker, Cesc Fabregas.
Denilson slipped in the back door on transfer deadline day: his registration, like that of William Gallas, actually occurred after the provisional midnight deadline. In fact, only The Sun carried the story that he made joined for an £4m fee. Most Gooners were in the dark about who this boy was: the only Denilson they knew of was formerly the world’s most expensive player. But Arsene had been aware of him for a long time: the scouting process had lasted over two years, having initially spotted the Brazilian Youth Captain whilst watching Ramon, who has since joined CSKA Moscow. The transfer negotiations themselves then lasted over a year, and were finally completed in the earliest hours of September 1st, 2006. As the Brazilian became our fourth major signing of the transfer window, Gunnerblog predicted:
“The teenager is extremely highly rated, and is almost certainly better than Alex Song.”
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been more right. Although he started the Carling Cup games at West Brom and Everton, the first time most Arsenal fans saw Denilson play was in the fabulous 6-3 win at Anfield, where he gave a composed and tidy performance on the left-hand side of midfield. However, it is when he has been played in his best position, a central role, that he has flourished, specifically in the two legs of the semi-final against Tottenham. In the first he bossed the midfield alongside Fabregas, and in the second he provided the creative outlet to compatriot Gilberto’s steel before shifting impressively out to the right-wing.
So how does the title of this article’s description stand up? Well, beyond their shared nationality, both he and Gilberto have an ability to read the game and make vital interceptions. They also share surprising upper-body strength: in spite of being a few inches shorter than Gilberto, Denilson refuses to be out-muscled, and clearly has an appetite for the competetive nature of English football. However, unlike Gilberto, Denilson has a zip of pace more in common with Tomas Rosicky. He also shares the Czech’s deft touch and eye for a pass. This collection of qualities is rare in football, and for it to be found in both Fabregas and Denilson, let alone for them to both be at the same football club, is quite remarkable. The question of whether or not they can play together was answered emphatically at White-Hart Lane, and the future of our midfield looks to be in the safest of hands. Or perhaps feet.
There is genuinely no need to buy a central midfielder for several years. Currently, we have Cesc and Gilberto as our established first-choice pairing. Beyond that Matthieu Flamini still has plenty of years ahead of him, whilst Wednesday night showed that Abou Diaby (frustratingly injured again) and Denilson both have enormous potential. This does not even factor in Alex Song, who has show signs of improvement, and the sixteen year-old prodigy Fran Merida.
In the short-term, Denilson has plenty to offer our first-team squad. With Alex Hleb out of action and Theo Walcott out of form, I wouldn’t be adverse to seeing him start on the right at Middlesbrough. We shall see.
Finally, Denilson has become part of a trio of Samba stars at Arsenal, along with the aforementioned Gilberto, and Julio “The Beast” Baptista. It’s hard to take that nickname seriously when he is playing the ukelele. If anyone doubted the samba spirit was alive and well, then just watch this video. Great stuff. Until tomorrow.
You can hear me discussing Denilson, Justin Hoyte, Gareth Southgate’s face, and much more on this Friday’s arsecast, which should appear on arseblog sometime this morning.
