Gilberto’s rocky form continues
February 16, 2006
Gilberto’s rocky form continues
Image copyright to BBC
Gilberto’s rocky form continued against Liverpool on Tuesday.
Arsenal lost the game 1-0 from a last minute goal. It seems Arsenal are a last-minute team, but so far this season, Gilberto has usually been the scorer of last minute goals, not a conceder.
Gilberto, again, was criticised by many Arsenal fans for his poor performance in the game. I didn’t see the game, but from what I hear, he played like you’d expect Gilberto to play. Dodgy passes, weak tackles, the usual.
Do you expect Gilberto to be hard tackling? Do you expect Gilberto to set up goals? Do you expect Gilberto to drive the whole team forward? If your answer to any of those questions is ‘yes’, then you have come to expect the wrong thing from a quiet defensive midfielder.
Since the beginning of the season, Arsenal fans have EXPECTED Gilberto to simply step into boots of Patrick Vieira. Expecting this to happen would be like expecting Arturo Lupoli to step into Thierry Henry’s boots. They are two different players, on two different levels.
Gilberto’s ‘failure’ to be Arsenal’s next driving midfielder isn’t a failure. It is just asking too much.
Gilberto’s job is to sit in front of a defence and to break up attacks before they happen. He will be ever-present in defending set pieces. He will be what he is: an invisible wall. So far this season, he has done what he has done in past seasons. The only difference this year is that the team is under performing, yet Gilberto continues to do what he has always done.
He can not start doing the Vieira role of tackling players high up the pitch. He can’t do the Edu role of setting up strikers for goals. He can’t do any role but his own.
If Arsenal’s strikers can’t score, how is it the fault of the defensive midfielder? If the whole defence is injured, is Mr Gilberto to blame?
The answer is yes. Gilberto is to be blamed – but not entirely. He is as much to blame as the 10 other Arsenal players on the pitch. He should not be blamed for not being Vieira.
The whole team need to step up and start scoring and defending as a team like they used to.
Gilberto will play against Real Madrid on Tuesday the 21st of February. No doubt he will get criticised for having a dodgy game – but as Arsene Wenger will tell you, if he is quiet, he is doing what the team need of him. However, if Gilberto is dragged out of position, if Arsenal need him to be hard tackling, they will again be disappointed.