Gilberto gives Nani advice
February 19, 2008
After Arsenal’s terrible 4-0 defeat against Man United (in which Gilberto took part), Gilberto offered Nani some advice with regards to showboating in an Arsenal vs. Man United game:
Gilberto issues Nani warning
Arsenal star Gilberto Silva has warned Manchester United winger Nani he could get a kicking if he does cut out his showboating.
Nani’s showboating antics during United’s 4-0 win over Arsenal in their FA Cup clash on Saturday infuriated the Arsenal squad who felt the Portuguese international was showing them a lack of respect.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal chief Arsene Wenger both condemened Nani for overstepping the mark.
The summer signing from Sporting Lisbon came in for some rough treatment following his showboating and Gilberto has warned he could come in for the same if he continues his antics.
Warning
“It was important for us we didn’t lose control and lose another man,” said Gilberto.“I just spoke to him and told him it wasn’t necessary for him to do that. I told him he could get a bad kick doing that.
“In these type of situations I do my best to calm down my team-mates because we need all of them on the pitch to fight for the team.”
Rallying call
Meanwhile, Gilberto is confident Arsenal can bounce back from their humiliating defeat to United and go on to achieve success in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League.“Of course we can bounce back from this,” insisted Gilberto. “If you look at United, they had a bad result against Manchester City, a big disappointment to them, and they came back very strong in this game against us.
“It’s the same for us. We will come back even stronger, starting in the Champions League against Milan on Wednesday, because we don’t want to let the opportunities pass us by this season. We must bounce back if we want to achieve something. This group is ambitious to win trophies this season.
“The FA Cup is very important and we’re disappointed to be knocked out, but we need to look forward to the game against Milan.
“It is also important that we focus on our position in the league, where we are five points clear, a situation very much in our favour. We must learn from our mistakes and not let a performance like this happen again.”
And that’s that.