Gilberto has been named as Arsenal.com's Player of the Month for December.
The industrious Brazilian excelled as stand-in captain in the absence of the injured Thierry Henry and enjoyed arguably his most productive month for the Gunners, scoring five goals.
The 30-year-old is not renowned for his potency in front of goal but he kicked off the month with two emphatic spot kicks in the North London derby as the Gunners put Tottenham to the sword.
Full involvement followed as Arsène Wenger’s side earned vital draws against Porto in the Champions League and against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. In the latter Gilberto made a crucial intervention to deny Didier Drogba a goal.
Perhaps his most important contribution however was in the 2-2 draw with Portsmouth at Emirates Stadium. Two goals down after 47 minutes, Gilberto pulled Arsenal level just moments after Emmanuel Adebayor had leapt off the bench to reduce the deficit.
That equaliser sparked a run which saw Gilberto score in three successive games as Blackburn and Watford both suffered the wrath of the free-scoring Samba star. It seemed everything that went right for Arsenal in December was in some way down to the deputising skipper.
Adebayor was another to flourish in the absence of Henry and truly earned his place as runner-up in this month's poll with strikes against Spurs, Wigan, Portsmouth and Watford. Dutchman Robin van Persie was another to hit a purple patch over the festive period and fans voted him third thanks to a clinical brace against Blackburn and a fine solo effort at Watford. Arsenal supporter Alex Green will present Gilberto with his award before the game against Manchester United on Sunday, January 21.
"Gilberto has been fantastic for us, especially in Henry's absence,” said Alex.
“He's a true unsung hero for the Gunners, who simply goes about his job with the minimum of fuss, scores important goals and inspires the rest of the team."
No comments:
Post a Comment