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Date:Wednesday July 9 2008
Time: 4:32PM
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Friar says Gilberto can go
Greek sources are confidently predicting that Gilberto Silva is close to joining Panathanaikos, currently managed by Henk ten Cate, for a fee reported to be between £1m and £2.5m.
Arsenal's acting Managing Director, Ken Friar is reported to have agreed conditions in principle with Nikos Pateras, Chairman of the Athens based club. Greek daily Sportday quotes Friar as saying "As far as I know the player and agent will travel to Athens to meet with the Panathinaikos people. If Gilberto reaches agreement then we will reach agreement with Panathinaikos."
The same source also reports Gilberto stating that "I have no problem to come to Greece if financially happy. We will get the proposal in my hands and then stop to think about it."
If there is a potential stumbling block it is that the player is looking for a 3 year deal while the Greek offer of €2.5m per year is for 2 years with the 3rd year conditional on him playing at least 50% of available games in the 2nd year.
Gilberto`s quiet dignity has won him many admirers at the club. His professionalism in accepting a much reduced role last season in marked contrast to that displayed by some other players.
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Your Comments
I will miss him...
Lou the Gunneress
If he is allowed to go it must be because Wenger has someone in mind to fill his place(and flamini's), and not just a shuffling of players. I.E Toure or Djourou as defensive midfielder. I heard a someone on another board claiming he worked as some sort of ground staff for Ajax and we have agreed a deal for huntelaar to be inveiled with Velos and Nasri on Friday. As much as this sounds like B.S it would be a nice dream. Alternativly with the press claiming Hleb is on the way to Barce, maybe Yaya is coming the opposite way. Back to Gilberto, it will be sad to see him go...leaving Kolo as the last of the invincibles.
paul_ownz
Me too - He has been a great professional and a good servant to the club!
Rocky7
Sad to see the back of ol' Gily... for the reasons above! Whilst all other little s**ts around us were quick to throw their toys out of the pram for not getting what they wanted, Gilberto just went about his business & even added the old dig at any ex player who dared criticize the club!
Even the yids have bought a player called Gilberto Silva...
So he must have done something right, if our locals rivals try n' buy a name sake? ha ha
If this news is to be believed (because we've all been duped, over the past few days)... THEN THANK YOU FOR THE YEARS GILBERTO! TRUE GOONER & A TRUE PROFESSIONAL!
clockendgooner
Oh come on, I'm starting to become more than a little concerned now. More players leaving, with Gilberto, it will make it 4 (if the rest are to be believed). I sincerely wanted him to stay as part of our squad and I will be sad to see him go ! I hope this news is not true.
prits
Gilberto's also the last World Cup winner left with us. I wish we'd see him retire at Arsenal. But if he wants to go for more first-team action, fair play and best wishes to him.
Lou the Gunneress
Gilberto is still more than capable of playing starting 11 football ... but ... not at arsenal ... i believe it is only right that arsenal should let him move on now, he has been a great player for us and has shown every confidence and loyalty in the club,
Achilles
clockend, the Gilberto at Spurs is not named Gilberto Silva, just Gilberto. He's also got far less of the subtle touch that our Gilberto has. Adeus, Gil, querido! Obrigada pelo tudo que voce fez por Arsenal!
jaelle
I could actually understand that Jaelle. My portugese is better than i thought. "Goodbye Gil, thank you for everything you did for arsenal" right? Not sure what querido means
paul_ownz
and why is it obrigada rather than obrigado? I thought Obrigada was for females....
paul_ownz
So who will we sign to replace him? Thats the interesting part of the debate. Nobody currently at the club could do the job except Alex Sing in my opinion and we know he has been ruled out by Wenger. Maybe the training has given Wenger ideas about the players we have - hence Ade being allowed to leave if that story is to be believed? Its a shame to see a fading superstar so I am sort of glad he is leaving now so that he is not torn apart.
Goofle
I would like to keep him, but if he wants to move on I wish him all the best! :)
gunnerkid107
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO dont gooooooooooooooooo
ajwb
Its a real shame to see Bert might be heading for the door. A model professional and a great servent to our club. I hope he has success wherever he goes. Definately one I will miss.
Unwell
Well I wish him all the best. Now our invisible wall really will be invisible 8-(. I for one would love to see him back at this club when playing days are over. A true professional and a real gentleman. Gilberto, take a boo son!!!
flv
How many players are you selling? Adebayor, Hleb, Flamini and now Gilberto. I cant see them all going, otherwise you would need serious intake and AW isnt known for splashign the cash. Are you guiys getting worried by the rapidly decreasing size of the squad?
united4life
U4L, Hleb, Flamini, and Gilberto will be the only ones to go. I dont see Ade going. Nasri, Vela, and Ramsey have been brought in( Nasri is all but done). Then I believe we will bring in one more midfielder, a defensive mid. So we are letting people go, but also bringing people in. Its just another normal summer at Arsenal.
gunnerkid107
Wonder what the chances are that Yaya will be part of the Hleb deal. Now that would certainly bring a smile to my face.
flv
u4life - worry about Ronaldo.
I would hate to see him go, he is the best example of a professional football player I have seen. God Bless you Gilberto!
Paulsito
paul_ownz, I AM a female! :-D Your translation is correct. "Querido" means "dear one" or "loved one."
jaelle
Is this correct? Tome cuidado e boa sorte Gilberto!
Lou the Gunneress
Goofle - 2 days into pre-season training will not have shown Wenger anything, they will only be doing very light sessions for the first few days. A bit of running, a bit of ball work, players don't just resume training like in a regular season, they have to work their way up to it.
Rocky7
Yes, Lou, that's right! Who knew I had all these people around here I can talk Portuguese with??
jaelle
Actually, Lou, if you mean to say "take care", "tome cuidado" is literally correct but doesn't have the more casual sense it does in English. In Portuguese it would sound like you're telling him in a very serious way to "be careful." There really isn't an equivalent to the casual English "take care." "Tudo de bom" would be fine ("may everything good happen for you").
jaelle
Nah I just used a translator online hehee! So "Querido Gilberto, adeus! Tudo de bom!!" But you know Jaelle, if he's indeed going to Turkey, maybe we can say "tome cuidado"... :D
Lou the Gunneress
Oops, Greece that is.
Lou the Gunneress
Uai?Gilberto, ocê já vai embora?
k_chelski
gilberto is one player i am sad to see leave the club. but if he does move on, all the best to him. he has been a rock in our team over the years.
supersof
Really sad to see him go, especially now that the flamster's gone as well.
stukazufuss
I share prits' concerns here. The squad looks like it could haemorrhage and while I don't doubt we can line up good replacements, the team last season really looked like it had begun to gel. Gilberto is a very experienced player and invaluable to us. Simply, if Gilberto and Hleb go and especially if Adebayor goes as well, we cannot win the league next year. It's a catch twenty two, because if Hleb and Ade are going to leave as a result of being little *****s and moaning to get their way, then we cannot by rights be disrespectful to Gilberto who has been the absolute polar opposite of both of the aforementioned. Not only would it be grossly unfair on Gilberto, it would enforce a very negative message. It looks like our summer could degenerate into simply buying replacements for lost players, rather than beefing the squad up, which is what it really needed.
Little Dutch
We should just wait and see what happens and not really speculate too much as we really never know what will happen. I for one believe we will have a great season, regardless of who goes as we really have some young players that are quite experienced within the Arsenal system. The great thing about Arsenal is that it is really the only team that is predominantly based on the sum rather than the parts. Be encouraged, I believe we can win the League! God Bless!!!
Paulsito
In general I do share your optimism, Paulsito. I think we have a good chance to go all the way next season, but not if we lose 4 players. I feel that we can cope with the loss of 2 (Flamini & Hleb) but if we keep losing more players, its going to become more and more difficult to fashion a challenge for next season.
prits
It will be sad to see him go, but I have absolutely no complaints. After acting with such proffesionalism he deserves to make the choice he wants.
ArsenalRob
Gilberto will not be missed at all. Thats not disrespect, its just the truth. We can win the league next year but my punt is the FA cup and Champions League double.
Goofle
It's always hard to see an experienced and professional player like Gilberto leave. But the circumstances under which he missed out on the captaincy and lost his place as first choice really affected his form. He was only just starting to recover towards the end of the season, so unless he is playing regularly, it would not be fair to keep him on the bench for another season when he still has something to offer the right team. Arsenal's playing style has really changed during his time at the club, and I think this is what Hleb was alluding to in his comment about being concerned about his ability to play at the level required by Arsenal. Players have to be young, fit and very mobile to keep the ball and create the movement required by our style of play. Whoever comes in to replace our leavers will need to fit that mould.
Passenal
Hey Prits, I do understand your concern and you are right, however Wenger is a genius at fitting players into the Arsenal style of play. I would prefer have faith and then fail to hit the mark, rather than say its over before it even starts. Something that we may be leaving out is the passion of the players to prove themselves after such a dissapointing season, I mean you just never know. Lets have faith, its even better for the whole man healthwise, I believe many of us cause football to give us high blood pressure! Im looking forward to something speacial, we have some great players in this side!
Paulsito
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