Gilberto to lead young guns in battle against Blades
Add comment October 31st, 2007
Reports of a bust-up over Gilberto refusing to play centre-back tonight are way wide of the mark, and the Brazilian is expected to captain a young Arsenal side as they face Sheffield United in tonight’s League Cup tie. When confronted with the reports, Arsene Wenger was quick to respond:
“I deny that categorically, and I find this assessment disrespectful to a great professional like Gilberto. He is 100 per cent professional and is in the squad for tomorrow. He will play.
I believe that as a manager and as a player you always have one thing in your mind and that is what is good for the club and the team. I cannot fault Gilberto on that since he arrived here. Recently he has played less, but his mentality has been superb.”
It’s good to hear. I’ve got a funny feeling that Gilberto will win his place back before long: let’s not forget, the guy is a World Cup winner. Granted, Flamini is playing well but as far as I’m concerned he’s not in the same class as Silva.
Tonight’s team will probably feature Wookash Fabianski behind a back four that includes Justin Hoyte and Alex Song. Armand Traore is away on International duty, and so the left-back role could be taken by young Kieran Gibbs. If Gilberto is not at centre-back, he’ll be in midfield with the likes of Diarra, Denilson, and possibly Abou Diaby. Spanish sensation Fran Merida could well be on the bench, with Eduardo and Bendtner likely to begin the game upfront. After his recent first-team exposure, it’s unclear whether or not Theo Walcott will start.
Although the fixture looks a tricky one at first glance, it’s worth remembering that Sheffield Untied are languishing in 19th in the Championship, and will be without key players Paddy Kenny, Phil Bardsley and Gary Cahill due to a combination of injury and cup ties. When you look at some of the International stars we’ll have on show, we should be more than good enough to go through.
Come on Arsenal.
