Gilberto can fill Petit void
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident World Cup winner Gilberto Silva can fill the central midfield void which many believe has been left at Highbury since Emmanuel Petit departed.
Petit's partnership with Patrick Vieira was the cornerstone of the club's Double success of 1998, but the Frenchman left the club two seasons later to seek a new challenge in Barcelona.
He has since returned to English football with Chelsea, while his position alongside Vieira has been filled by a variety of players, including Gilles Grimandi, Ray Parlour, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Edu.
But while van Bronckhorst has suffered through injury, Parlour has always performed consistently and Edu improves each month, none of them ever formed such a seamless and productive partnership with Vieira as Petit did.
Wenger believes Gilberto, a £4.5million summer signing from Atletico Mineiro, can slot in comfortably alongside Vieira.
"Last year we had a very good midfield as well and I believe Vieira and Gilberto can be a tremendous partnership," said Wenger.
"It will be different to Petit because Gilberto is a player who has quick vision and gets in the penalty area. He is less physical than Petit and plays less long balls. But it will be a very good partnership."
