Selling Gilberto would be a terrible idea
568 comments March 12th, 2007
What is it about Juventus and our midfielders? The giant moth of Italian football is looming over our North London flame once again, and after already nabbing Patrick Vieira, they’re now keen to take his Brazilian former partner, Gilberto Silva.
Brazil manager Dunga has seen fit to stick his oar in, saying:
“Gilberto Silva, for me, is a player who can do good things in the Italian League. He can play in a big club like Juve, he is very mature and doesn’t fear responsibility.”
Even for a fee as high as £7m, we should absolutely refuse to do business. Over the past two years, Gilberto has stepped out of Vieira’s shadow and shown that he is an excellent midfielder in his own right. He is now firmly established as our vice-captain, and is a leader by example on the pitch. Furthermore, he’s probably the only midfielder in our squad capable of putting the ball in the net, with nine goals already this season.
Yes, we have the likes of Denilson and Diaby coming through in the centre of the park, but these are both players whose natural game is more attacking than defensive. Gilberto is the master of interceptions, the king of the second ball, the don of defensive awareness. Without him we lack shape and stability, not to mention experience.
Gilberto must stay. I know Arsene Wenger is allergic to players of thirty or above, but every so often you get hold of one whose a keeper. Such is Gilberto’s intelligence on the pitch that he has many many years of top-class football in front of him. For the sake of our success, they must be at Arsenal.
