Gilberto remains professional
April 20, 2008
Gilberto netted his first goal of the season yesterday – albeit via a wicked deflection of Reading defender Andre Bikey.
It has not been the easiest of campaigns for the veteran Brazilian, who has had to watch most of it from the bench as Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini – currently out injured – forged a formidable partnership in the centre of midfield.
Gilberto has one more year to run on his contract and is hopeful he will be able to see that out at Emirates Stadium.
“I will sit down with the boss at the end of the season,” he confirmed. “But for the next few weeks, I will keep focused on doing my job, trying to help the team as much as I can whether it is on the pitch, or in training working with the players.
“We always speak very nicely, Arsene is open and we will talk.
“I don’t know whether you can get assurances, but I want to talk about my prospects and whether I have a chance to play, if the manager thinks I can be a good player for the team or not.”
Gilberto added: “To be honest, I really want to stay and I’ve always expressed that.
“Of course I’m upset that I’ve not played much this season because last year I played the whole season and this year has been really frustrating.
“But you need to be professional, respect the manager’s point of view and help the other players as much and to the maximum that I possibly can.”