Invisiblewall.net: Gilberto Silva News

Arsenal legend Tony Adams has been talking about Arsenal’s recent woes and concluded that the problem is Gilberto Silva. Or rather, a lack of him.

From: http://talksport.com/football/exclusive-adams-urges-wenger-find-new-gilberto-13082957746

Adams told Hawksbee and Jacobs: “The problem with Arsenal in recent years is they have been too open. They are very susceptible to the counter attack.

“Since Gilberto went, that screen has been missing. The balance is all wrong. They are too gung-ho, the full-backs bomb forward and there is no security. That’s the big problem.

“They need to find the player – either in the system or go out and buy him – to go into that holding midfield role. They need someone in there who can break up play when they throw everyone forward.”

“They need to be looking for the next best Gilberto. There’s a kid at Sporting Lisbon, Eric Dier, who’s English, he’s 19, maybe he could fill the gap? He certainly wouldn’t cost £30m or £50m. So can Arsene [Wenger] unearth another one? That’s what I’d be looking for.”

Adams is always an expert behind the microphone, but rarely has he proven himself from the dugout.

Still though, it’s nice to see that Gilberto’s “best player in the universe when he’s not on the pitch” status has been given the Adams stamp of approval – whatever it’s worth!

Following a nasty nose injury in April 2012 (view the pics of his lovely protective mask here), Gilberto sustained injury again in July of 2013.

Super Esportes reported:

Defensive midfielder Gilberto Silva suffered a rupture of the meniscus in his right knee. He will undergo surgery on Friday [August 2nd].

He suffered the injury during the derby with Cruiseiro last Sunday, played during the Brazilian Championship.

Following the surgery, the same site reported on August 2nd that,

Gilberto Silva is doing well after surgery on his right knee to repair the meniscus rupture and small cartilage injury, Atletico Mineiro club doctor Rodrigo Lasmar stated.

“It was fine; a very successful surgery,” he said in an interview with Superesportes.

The recovery period is not set. Gilberto should start work in physical therapy next week.

“The recovery is, in a way, simply to be careful; because it is an injury to the meniscus and cartilage. We expect that at the beginning of the week he will begin physical therapy, “said Lasmar.

Gilberto unfortunately then missed out on playing in the Copa Libertadores final for Atletico Mineiro (which they won).

However, he reported to Invisiblewall.net on Twitter that his knee is “getting better every day”:

@Invisible_Wall cada dia melhor

— Gilberto Silva (@GilbertoSilva15) August 16, 2013

— Gilberto Silva (@GilbertoSilva15) August 16, 2013

At Invisiblewall we wish Gilberto all the best and that he returns to playing for Atletico as soon as possible.

A nice snippet from The Hard Tackle this week about Gilberto:

Truth be told Arsenal are yet to replace Gilberto Silva. The Brazilian was the invisible shield ahead of the Arsenal defense and did all the dirty work cleanly, while it can be preposterous to compare Gustavo with Gilberto, but he has all the talents to play a similar role at Arsenal. The need of a Gilberto Silva in a team can often be overlooked, but despite their anonymity, a good defensive midfielder helps in bringing out the best in the flair players around him. Gustavo can take Arsenal one step closer to challenging for silverware once again.

Gilberto Silva was always a better player when he was not on the pitch (in that the press used to sing his praises when he wasn’t there to criticise), and now that he’s moved on from Arsenal, the press seem to have elevated him to legendary status.

He certainly deserves the praise, but if only he received it while he was playing!

Source: http://www.thehardtackle.com/2013/arsenal-luiz-gustavo-bayern-munich-tactics/

Having moved back to his first big club in November 2012, Gilberto Silva helped Atletico Mineiro win the Copa Libertadores. The match was won on penalties.

Gilberto did not feature in the final, but he was in the Brazilian news with Ronaldinho.

Star Ronaldinho recalled an old partnership with Gilberto Silva. Playing together again after they won the World Cup in 2002 and the Confederations Cup in 2005 with the Brazilian national team.

“We won some career titles together; and so I knew when he came back, I said, ‘when you joined, it turned our season’,” Ronaldinho said.

Gilberto Silva, meanwhile, talked about his time at Atletico Mineiro earlier in the season which led to him being selected for the Brazilian national side.

“I feel privileged, I was chosen by God. It was here at Atletico-MG that I was chosen for the Brazilian national team and now I’m back. I am proud to be part of history,” added the ‘volante’ (Portuguese for ‘defensive midfielder’ – literally ‘steering wheel’).

Source: http://esporte.ig.com.br/futebol/2013-07-25/ronaldinho-gaucho-exalta-parceria-com-gilberto-silva-juntou-virou-titulo.html

Gilberto posted this photo of himself celebrating on his Instagram account:

Gilberto has apparently “advised” his Atletico Mineiro team mate Bernard to move to Arsenal.

I should think the deal probably rests upon huge sums of money being moved around rather than a recommendation from a team mate…

Atletico Mineiro have told Arsenal they can have play-maker Bernard for £25million after officially putting him up for sale.

The Brazilian outfit, who won the Copa Libertadores title this week, are already planning for life without the 20-year-old with the Gunners stepping up their interest.

Arsene Wenger is known to be a long-term fan of Bernard, who is rated as the next big star to come out of South America.

And according to Mineiro director Eduardo Maluf, all Arsenal need to do to bag him is make an offer of at least £25million.

‘The president has already made very clear, if an offer of £25million arrives, he is going to sell and we will buy another player,’ Maluf told Globo.

Arsenal will face some notable competition to pull the deal off, with Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Benfica and Shakhtar Donetsk also keen.

However, reports in Brazil suggest Bernard has privately set his heart on a move to Arsenal, having been advised by his Mineiro team-mate and Gunners legend Gilberto Silva.

The 5 foot 5 inch play-maker had revealed earlier this week that he was ready to take his time to decide his future, but added he had received an exciting offer from a Premier League side already.

Arsenal alerted as Atletico Mineiro put Bernard up for sale for £25million