Gilberto will wait 2 months to decide on future
March 16, 2008
Gilberto to make summer decision
Out-of-favour midfielder delays decision on Gunners future
Arsenal’s out-of-favour midfielder Gilberto Silva has confirmed he will make a decision on his future this summer.
The Brazilian lost the captain’s armband at the start of the season to William Gallas before losing his place in the side to Mathieu Flamini.
Gilberto, who was linked with a January move away from the Emirates, has confirmed he has struggled without first-team football this term.
The 31-year-old is tied to Arsenal until the summer of 2009 and has hinted the time may be right to move on, if he fails to win a place in Arsene Wenger’s side in the end of season run in.
“I’m trying to adjust to the situation, but I confess it’s not been easy,” stated Gilberto.
“I love the club and Arsene is a good man and a good manager – but there are only two months to go and I haven’t played much.
“I will wait until the end of the season and then make my decision. If a good opportunity comes along then I don’t see any other option.”
My stance on this is that Gilberto must put his own career first – as any footballer must. Obviously, I’m not of the opinion that players should jump ship as soon as they are dropped for a few games; that would obviously be ridiculous, and contrary to the best interests of the player. But if it becomes obvious to a player that his career will suffer in the long term as a result of not playing for a substantial length of time, he must seek pastures new. This is what Gilberto must do. (I say ‘must’ in a loose sense of the word. I really mean that many people would see it as professional and acceptable if he did this.)
Even if Gilberto plays in every minute of every Arsenal game for the rest of the season, though, must he decide to stay at the club? I think he must still consider leaving for the good of his own career. Playing for the rest of the season would not guarantee Gilberto playing time next season. He could just as easily have another identical season in which he was used as a back-up midfielder. For the sake of his personal and international career, he probably won’t want this to happen.
So, whatever happens in the next two months, I honestly don’t see Gilberto turning down a move away from Arsenal. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that I think he will certainly leave. Obviously, Gilberto is still under contract – and should Wenger decide that Gilberto cannot leave; Bert is still under contract, and any true professional must honour his contract. A move away from Arsenal also hinges on whether a suitable club (‘suitable’ meaning a club which offers enough to convince Arsenal to sell, and also meaning a club which Gilberto deems desirable in terms of location and ambition) bids for Gilberto.
If all the above conditions were met, I don’t see that Gilberto will turn down a move away from Arsenal – regardless of what happens for the rest of the season.
If any of what I have written makes you think that I’m anti-Arsenal for ‘wanting’ Gilberto to leave the club, then stop and think for a moment. We (well, myself) here at Invisiblewall.net never claim to be anything other than fans of Gilberto Silva. My agenda with this site is just to support Gilberto Silva in whatever he does (and for whichever club he plays for). I am not obliged to campaign for what is good for Arsenal – the fact that Gilberto plays for Arsenal is merely arbitrary; Arsenal are a subject on this site just for the fact that Gilberto plays for them. Should Gilberto move clubs and play, for example, Juventus, this site would then have a big leaning towards the games and news of Juventus.