[size=22:bb3c151812]Gilberto keen on Gunners stay[/size:bb3c151812]
Arsenal’s veteran midfielder Gilberto wants to stay with the North London club beyond the end of the current season.
The 31-year-old’s future at Emirates Stadium has been somewhat uncertain after his bit-part inclusion this campaign, but Mathieu Flamini’s imminent departure for Milan appears to have opened the door for the Brazilian.
Now the international says he would like to remain at the club after he was linked with a move away earlier in the season, but admits his long-term prospects rest in the hands of Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.
“I want to stay at the club,” Gilberto said in The Daily Star. “I enjoy being at Arsenal – the people, the atmosphere, the football, everything about it here.
“I don’t know if the club have received any offers and the situation could change if the club gets one.
“Then we will speak about it and sort out what is best for both of us.
“I plan to go on holiday back to Brazil to think things over and see what happens.
“But at the moment I plan to return to the club after my holiday because I do not know what the club are thinking.
“I cannot say whether I will be here or not next season.
“Managers make plans, but then things happen at the end of the season that they didn’t expect to happen.”

[size=24:464eb6b640]Wenger wants Gilberto to stay[/size:464eb6b640]
Manager Arsène Wenger has admitted that he would like Brazilian World Cup winner Gilberto Silva to stay on at the Emirates.
The Frenchman paid tribute to both Gilberto and Jens Lehmann, who he says are worthy winners and special players.
Wenger said: "It's not necessarily goodbye to Gilberto. I want him to stay but I have to sit down with him and see what he wants to do and go from there.
"Gilberto is like Jens Lehmann. You can rely on them, they're fantastic professionals.
"Gilberto is a really fantastic guy.
"We won trophies with Gilberto and Jens because they're special human beings. You don't win with average people."

Gilberto Silva has set his sights on a move to Italy's Serie A, with Roma leading the chase to sign him.
The popular Brazil midfielder has attracted widespread interest from England, Italy and Spain after deciding to bring down the curtain on a highly-successful six-year stay at Arsenal.
[b:04acd64cfb]He has confided to friends that[/b:04acd64cfb], after winning League and Cup honours in this country, he is ready for a change of scene, with Italy his preferred destination.
There is no shortage of takers, with both Milan clubs and Juventus challenging Roma for his signature.
Roma boss Luciano Spalletti appears to be in pole position, after falling just short in Serie A and the Champions' League this season and identifying the 31-year old as the ideal choice to add steel to his midfield.
Gilberto, signed from Atletico Mineiro in the summer of 2002, made over 30 appearances in each of his first two seasons at Arsenal but has found opportunities in the starting line-up increasingly hard to come by in recent months.
Even so, Arsenal fans will be sorry to see him go, following a significant contribution to their success under Arsene Wenger that has established him as one of the Barclays Premier League's most effective Brazilian imports.