‘He worked in complete alignment with the club’s values and culture. Recruitment was always about finding players who understood the club’s DNA’ Gilberto Silva on his former Arsenal team-mate Edu

Modern-day squad churn will mean that for many players, team-mates will often come and go with minimum fuss. Sometimes, though, a special bond is formed.

That was the case for former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva, who forged a special bond with a former club and country colleague.

Gilberto on his ‘brother’ Edu

Gilberto Silva playing for Arsenal, 2003 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Gilberto played alongside Edu for both Arsenal and Brazil, with the pair lining up together on 66 occasions between 2002 and 2005.

“Edu isn’t just a friend to me – he’s like a brother,” Gilberto tells FourFourTwo of his compatriot, who had returned to Arsenal in July 2019, initially as technical director.

Gilberto’s pride at seeing his friend transition from midfield metronome to the Emirates boardroom is clear, not least because of the size of that particular challenge at a club of Arsenal’s stature.

“What was always clear was that he worked in complete alignment with the club’s values and culture,” he continues, “Player recruitment was always about that – about finding players who understood the club’s DNA.”

When Edu returned to Arsenal in 2019, the club was still in a post-Wenger funk, searching for its identity.

“He arrived at a time when results were poor, pressure was immense and supporters were demanding answers,” Gilberto adds. “The team clearly needed rebuilding and that often brings friction, particularly when results don’t follow.

Arsenal techincal director Edu sits alongside first-team boss Mikel Arteta. — Edu returned to Arsenal in 2019 (Image credit: Getty Images)

“But as the years passed and the club edged closer to a Premier League title challenge, the adjustments became far more targeted and far less drastic than at the start.

“His influence on what’s happening now is enormous, even though many of those decisions were made years ago.”

TOPICS

For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.

With contributions from

Caio Carrieri

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.