England VS Brazil: Anglophile Gilberto wishes to become British citizen

Blackleaf

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Anglophile Gilberto is looking for a passport to success at Arsenal

1st June 2007
Daily Mail

ENGLAND VS BRAZIL, friendly, tonight 8pm BST, Wembley



Gilberto, the most successful Brazilian import English football has seen, revealed today that he loves life in England so much that he is seeking dual nationality.

Arsenal's vice-captain has also pledged his long-term future to the club and said that he wants to finish his career at the Emirates Stadium.


Kingpin: Arenal's Gilberto, shown here in action for Brazil against France during the 2006 World Cup. Brazil play England tonight at in front of a crowd of 90,000 at Wembley. He wants to become a British citizen and stay at the North London club till the end of his career



But, despite being so settled in London, Gilberto has highlighted his concerns about Arsenal's second consecutive season without a trophy and another disappointing fourth-placed finish in the Premiership.
  • He called on Arsene Wenger to sign "two or three" new players this summer in order to hang on to the coat-tails of Chelsea and Manchester United.
  • He explained his "shock" over David Dein's acrimonious departure.
  • He revealed that "some of the players" at Arsenal are "concerned" that Wenger has yet to commit his future to the club beyond next season.
Gilberto has just completed his fifth season in the Premiership, a significant achievement given that most Brazilian footballers view England as hostile territory and the few that do move over here get more homesick than Steve Harmison on a three-month tour of the sub-continent.

By the end of next season, the 2002 World Cup winner will have been in England long enough to qualify for a dual-nationality passport, which would allow him greater freedom of movement to play on the Continent.

"It is true that after one more year I will qualify for joint Brazilian and English citizenship," said Gilberto. "You have to be in England for six years.

"But it is not about freedom of movement for me. It is more about my family. I have three children - a five-year-old, a four-year-old and a baby, who all have Brazilian passports.

"If we move back to Brazil one day, then, by me having dual nationality it would allow them to come back to England and study or work over here. It could have great benefits for them."

'I don't think I want to go into management'

The 30-year-old was one of the few Arsenal players to maintain consistently high standards last season and his best-ever haul of 11 goals was a genuine accomplishment for a midfield anchorman who even spent a month playing out of position in central defence.


Leading by example: Gilberto Silva consistently impressed for the Gunners last season


Newly-promoted Juventus have been quite vocal in their pursuit of Gilberto but the Brazilian says he has no intention of leaving Arsenal, even though the Turin giants are prepared to offer him a four-year contract.

"I have two years left at Arsenal and I hope to stay here for that time and hopefully even longer," said the softly-spoken midfielder in the Park Lane hotel that is Brazil's base for tonight's friendly at Wembley.

"Of course, if Arsene tells me he has an offer and wants me to go, then everything changes. But I am very happy here. I don't want to leave. I would love to finish my career at Arsenal.

"I have said before that it is like a family here. It is a great atmosphere to work in and everyone at the club is really friendly.

"After that, I don't know what I will do. I will probably go back to Brazil to spend more time with my family and my wife's family. I don't think I want to go into management. It is too stressful."

Despite his affection for Arsenal the institution, Gilberto recognises that the team is in need of a facelift over the summer.

Wenger's youthful team finished a distant 21 points behind champions Manchester United and the pressure to keep up with the big spenders has got even more intense following the £40million triple swoop that has brought Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani to Old Trafford this week.

As statements of intent go, Gilberto admits, it was quite emphatic.

'I think Thierry will stay'

He said: "They are all good players and will make Manchester stronger. But, you know, the first year in England is very hard. I know that from my own experience. If they get better, then it is up to us to get better too."

The only new addition to the Arsenal squad so far has been promising Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. Does he hope there will be more to follow?

"Yes, I hope so," replied Gilberto. "We have a good, young squad but I think we need maybe two or three new players.

"It's not for me to say who Arsene should buy or what positions need strengthening. We have to have faith in the manager. He is a great record of bringing in new players who make the team better."


Silva praise: Arsenal 'need' Thierry Henry, says Gilberto


The esteem in which Wenger is held by the entire Arsenal squad is unquestionable but a degree of uncertainty has been created at Ashburton Grove by the Frenchman's reluctance to extend his contract beyond 2008.

Are the players concerned? "Yes, some of them are," he added. "Arsene brought us all to the club and we all want to play for him.

"He promised us at the end of the season that he is not just planning for the short-term. He is planning long-term as well and we have to believe him when he says that."

Dein, who worked so closely with Wenger and is one of the Arsenal manager's best friends, has done little to quell the feeling of unrest among both supporters and players.

"I was shocked when I heard," admitted Gilberto. "It came at a bad time for us because we had still not clinched Champions League qualification.

"I don't know why he left. Arsene has always dealt with that side and kept the players away from what was happening upstairs. But he did speak to us and said we must all stick together. People move on from clubs but that is not an excuse for the players."

Barely a day goes by without Thierry Henry being linked with a move to Spain but Gilberto is confident that the French maestro will still be stepping out in the red-and-white jersey at the Emirates in August.

"I think Thierry will stay," said the Brazilian. "We need him. Everyone knows what he can do. He wasn't very happy last season and we struggled without him and Robin van Persie, who was playing really well when he got injured.

"I am angry about last season. We were better than the year before but we should have done better considering the quality we have and some of the football played. We were not as consistent as we should have been and we need to improve on that."

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gopher

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Jun 26, 2005
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Minnesota: Gopher State
I sure would have loved to watch the test match. Too much garbage on TV tonite so I watched a replay of Syracuse over Johns Hopkins in lacrosse 13-12 for the 1989 NCAA championship. What a match!

Will now watch girls softball as Northwestern will take on Washington. First pitch - ball one!