Gilberto claims nothing but a joke

Arsenal’s kids will get another chance to prove their worth when they take on Sheffield United in the Carling Cup later tonight.

Manager Arsene Wenger revealed the squad for the match, naming Gilberto Silva in the starting team despite the recent suggestions that the Brazilian captain had had a falling out with the Frenchman over a recent lack of opportunities. The manager candidly refuted the claims made against Gilberto, questioning the credibility of the reporting and praising the professionalism of one of his most senior players.

“I deny that categorically, and I find this assessment disrespectful to a great professional like Gilberto. He is 100 per cent professional and is in the squad for tomorrow. He will play.”

It’s a shame that Wenger has had to make a statement defending Gilberto’s professionalism because of all the members in the squad I think he’s probably the last who act disrespectfully towards the manager. As Wenger mentioned, he is a model professional and there is just no way he would ever behave in the manner that was suggested even if he was unhappy with the current situation. If the stories were about Jens Lehmann then I could probably understand but as soon as Gilberto was mentioned I just rolled my eyes. Hopefully it will make a few people think twice about swallowing everything the British tabloids say, but I guess that’s probably too much to ask.

No-one quite like Bendtner

Moving onto the Sheffield game, I’m fairly confident that Gilberto will start at central defence because the squad looks pretty thin in that area. For some reason Armand Traore has been left out of the squad and as far as I know aside from Lassana Diarra, there are no other options at left-back. Although I don’t normally like to attempt naming starting sides (and Carling Cup teams are usually the hardest to pick), if I had to choose a team I’d hazard at the following lineup:

GK: Fabianski; RB: Hoyte; CB: Song; CB: Gilberto; LB: Diarra; RM: Walcott; CM: Denilson; CM: Diaby; LM: Gibbs; CF: Eduardo; CF: Bendtner. 

Obviously there are other options; Theo Walcott could start up front, Diarra might play in the middle of the pitch and Fran Merida might even feature. Who really knows? One player who, in my eyes, is certain to start is Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner and Wenger spoke a little bit about his performances for the club so far this season.

“When he has come on he has had an impact every time. That is because he is intelligent and he is quick as well with a good technique so he has all the ingredients that the team needs.”

As the manager said, every time he has come off the bench he has made a difference and that has mostly been due to his ability to intimidate opponents with his massive frame. Since Wenger took over the club I don’t think Arsenal have had a player quite like Bendtner and for that reason I think he’s such a valuable asset. He’s probably still hurting after his awful miss against Liverpool so hopefully he can grab a goal against Sheffield United to get things back on track.

That’s about all for today. I’m not going to be able to watch the Carling Cup match so if anyone does get to see it, please let myself and the other readers of the blog who might have to miss out what you think. Cheers!

What do you think?

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