Arsenal have confirmed the transfer of Gilberto to Greek side Panathinakos as expected. At 31 and after falling down the pecking order at Arsenal, its not a surprise to see him moving on. Panathinakos have apparently offered him a great 3 year contract meaning he will be the highest earner in the league and we know Wenger wouldn’t of extended his contract for more than a year at his age.
Gilberto will always be remembered as a key member of the formidable ‘invincibles’ team which won the title back in 2004. More than anything else, I think Arsenal fans have always admired the way he conducts himself as on and off the pitch, a real professional.
When the captaincy was taken away and handed elsewhere and when he wasn’t making the first team Gilberto was always dealt with things in a mature and intelligent manner, refusing to be drawn into criticism of the manager or team mates. Best of luck to him at Panathinakos, Gilberto is definitely one of the good guys in football.
Its a shame that the Telegraph continued with the recent spate of sensationalised bullshit that they seem to be spurting out from every diseased filled orifice that makes the Sun look fucking clever by descibing Gilbertos desparture as “the lastest of Arsene Wengers midfielders to jump ship“.
The article continues -
“With the ink having scarcely dried on Alexander Hleb’s contract with Barcelona, Gilberto’s departure will be another blow to Wenger, who has now seen three of his senior midfielders leave this summer.”
Probably my favourite quote -
“Perhaps worse is Gilberto’s admission that he leaves the Emirates “hungry” for titles, suggesting that he has little faith in his former club’s ability to produce the goods.”
Yes its Gilberto who has lost faith in Arsenal, that’s why he’s moved to the best league in the world, the, erm Greek league, to play for Panathinakos.
Sandy Macaskill, you are woefully ignorant fucktard.
Moving on, surely Wenger will be looking for at least one central midfielder. Any guesses?
Now some may see this as Arsenal losing a quality player, but having already replaced him with a fantastic talent in Samir Nasri, all it means if we may now be in a position to make a bid for whoever Wenger deems fit.
“We must firstly thank Alex for his contribution towards Arsenal Football Club during his time with us. Alex played a significant role in the three seasons he was with the Club. We are comfortable with our decision to let him go and we are all looking forward to continuing our preparations for the new season ahead.”
Goodbye Alexander, and although i drooled over your fancy footwork on more than one occasion, your incredible lack of goals won’t be missed here. There is a new kid on the block, and his name is Samir Nasri.
Ok I’m back, I have been out of the game a while with a few other projects but Goonerblog will now be updated regulary. Probably.
I am also looking for guest bloggers and posts if anyone is interested having their say about Arsenal, please contact me via the contact form.
So, completely out of the blue this one, we have now officially signed Samir Nasri after so much speculation. A typical Wenger signing, young, French, quick and technically gifted. Nasri said -
“Arsene has a great reputation and he is one of the best managers in the world. He has proved that he puts a lot of confidence in the young players and he gives them a chance.
“It was very important for me to have such a great manager to work with and I’m really looking forward to working with both Arsene Wenger and all my new team-mates.
“I can play in the centre or on the wing. During my career, I have played behind one or two strikers or on the left, or the right hand side.“
With the ability to play wide left or right and behind the striker it gives us plenty of options and pretty much sounds like a direct replacement for Hleb.
