Arsenal News 24/7Writer: Rocky7 
Date:Friday May 9 2008
Time: 3:17PM
UK time is: 14:42:54
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Gilbert-Go
Arsene Wenger today claimed he wanted to retain the services of Gilberto Silva.
But I say no.
Let's first hear what Arsene Wenger has to say.
'I personally would like him to stay but he has to make a decision on that - I want him to feel comfortable,' said Wenger.
'I like Gilberto and since he has been playing again he has shown how good he is as a player, but we will see.'
First things first, I really like Gilberto he has been the consummate professional and a great servant to the club. Never one to whinge or whine and a bloody good footballer to boot, and should he be ok with riding the pine for another couple of seasons then I'd be all for keeping him, hell, we could use the experience.
But alas, Gil 'The Invisible Wall' Berto has already stated he wants to play football on a regular basis.
'But he could still be a regular starter now Flamini has gone' I hear you cry, but I fear that would be a bigger mistake than losing Flamini in the first place.
You see, despite still being a decent and valuable squad member, Bert is knocking on a bit, and should he become a first choice central midfielder again, it would only be a season or two before we once again faced the conundrum of finding a world class defensive midfielder to guard the lines for the foreseeable future ...... so we may as well start looking now.
Gilberto should be allowed to leave to enjoy the twilight years of his career before spending the season on the bench twists and distorts his view to that of Lehmann proportions.
What say you?
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Your Comments
What a great servant he has been for us. He is also one of the most underated (outside of Arsenal and the Brazil national team) players of recent time. I do agree totally with him not being a first team regular though. It would be a step backwards. If, however, he decided he was happy to play a bit part role, I think we owe him his place in the squad! He has very rarely let us down. I think he will want to go though, and good luck to him.
navydave
If he goes Kolo Toure will be the last of the unbeatables. Amazing how much changes in 4 years. Team - Lehman, Cole, Toure, Campbell, Lauren, Pires, Silva, Vieria, Ljunberg, Bergkamp, Henry. Typical Bench- Keown, Edu, Reyes, Cygan, Kanu
paul_ownz
Wow, that's crazy. Kolo Toure is the longest serving player at our club now.
Rocky7
You should be sorry for Zilberto's leaving
Bosko-Macedonia
I agree Rocks, and this could eb good and bad. If Bert and Hleb join Flams in leaving Arsenal, we are INCREDIBLY short (amazing when Diarra left because of the vast competition). All we have is Rosicky, Diaby, Denilson, Cesc and Eboue, Song and Theo, who are able to play there, but are more effective somewhere else on the pitch. At least 2 midfielders will have to come in. I love seeing new players join the club, but at this rate, we're giving the team a proper make-over, just liek Chelsea are doing this season! Like I say it could work brilliantly, or if the players fail to 'gel' quickly, and Cesc misses his midfield buddies, it could go horribly wrong...
super_gooner
buy Arteta. a centre midifield pairing of Fabregas and Arteta, followed by Bendtner and Adebayor is mouth watering! For MMA fans.
k_chelski
nice one kevin. I am all for Bert staying but he can hardly be our 1st choice holding midfielder. I think this season Flamoney redefined the role a "holding midfielder" should play along with Cesc, and unfortunately Bert is just not dynamic and agile enough to do it. Denilson, Song and Diaby will have to step up and fill the void while Bert can be the one to tell them all the little tricks and secrets of the game in that position.
G4L
Maybe throw a lil Joey Barton in there as well?
k_chelski
If Diaby focuses more in developing his defensive attributes, distributes the ball quicker and makes good use of his natural physical strength by blending his game with power play, he would be more than an adequate replacement to Flamini. During the legendary Petit-Vieira pairing, Vieira allows Petit to assume the more attacking role while he stayed back to protect the defence. Petit was much better with his range passing just like Fabregas while Vieira was the best we ever had in Arsenal shirt winning the midfield battle. Flamini's style of play used to be quite identical to Fabregas' until he realised someone has to stay back and do the dirty job. That was when the Fabregas-Flamini pairing started to work magnificently and Flamini started to gain recognation as the French Gattuso. Can Diaby fulfills his much touted potential to be the next Vieira? Yes, if only he is committed to be a full time defensive midfielder
Joe_@**
Maybe Gilberto could be a tutor to Diaby on being a good DM while the both of them share the minutes on the pitch, I think Gilberto could also be a good coach when he retires.
stukazufuss
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