Wenger on benching Gilberto
October 8, 2007
After the Sunderland game, Wenger was asked why he left Gilberto on the bench. Not that he has to answer such questions, but he said the following which was quoted on Arsenal.com:
“I have a strong relationship with Gilberto, I spoke with him about that, I have a huge respect for him, you know? At the moment it is frustrating for him – incidentally it is his birthday today. He is an important player in the group, he is an important player in the team. As I said, it is a selection problem at the moment but he will come back into the side, I don’t worry about that.”
Wenger says, “He will come back into the side”, and I agree. Gilberto has faced stiff competition for a starting place before now – when Vieira was still with Arsenal, Bert used to compete with Edu for a starting place – and after that, Fabregas. This competition is nothing new to him. He can deal with it – he always has, and he will continue to do so. Each time he faced competition, he came out on top. I see no difference with the Flamini situation – people are saying that Flamini is playing well – but Gilberto has a wise head on his shoulders, and he knows that he just has to play to his full capability, and that will see him restored to the starting eleven. He knows he can play better than Flamini, and the only thing he has to do… is to do it.
Happy 31st birthday for yesterday, Bert.