Gilberto wins Arsenal player of the month
January 13, 2007
Gilberto is Arsenal.com player of the month!
I hope YOU voted. Because, if you DIDN’T…. well…. then… it doesn’t really matter, actually. Because Gilberto won Arsenal’s player of the month for December. He stormed the poll with 42% of the votes. Adebayor was in second place, with 20% of the votes.
In the words of Arsenal.com,
The industrious Brazilian excelled as stand-in captain in the absence of the injured Thierry Henry and enjoyed arguably his most productive month for the Gunners, scoring five goals.
The 30-year-old is not renowned for his potency in front of goal but he kicked off the month with two emphatic spot kicks in the North London derby as the Gunners put Tottenham to the sword.
Full involvement followed as Arsène Wenger’s side earned vital draws against Porto in the Champions League and against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. In the latter Gilberto made a crucial intervention to deny Didier Drogba a goal.
Perhaps his most important contribution however was in the 2-2 draw with Portsmouth at Emirates Stadium. Two goals down after 47 minutes, Gilberto pulled Arsenal level just moments after Emmanuel Adebayor had leapt off the bench to reduce the deficit.
That equaliser sparked a run which saw Gilberto score in three successive games as Blackburn and Watford both suffered the wrath of the free-scoring Samba star. It seemed everything that went right for Arsenal in December was in some way down to the deputising skipper.
Nice! Well done Big Bert. May your great form continue!