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#4 Gilberto Silva - Arsenal (2002 to 2008) and Brazil
The silent glue that held the Invincibles together, Gilberto was one of Arsene Wenger’s most astute signings at £4.5 million.
His keep-it-simple style meant that alongside the centre-backs, he provided the foundation for the club’s more creative players to express themselves.
Joining shortly after Brazil’s victory at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, he added the steel and defensive nous to the centre of the Gunners’ midfield and his presence allowed his midfield partner and then captain Patrick Vieira to embark on his trademark slaloming box-to-box runs.
The success of this central midfield pairing is one that a lot of Premier League managers have sought to emulate with varying amounts of success.
Known as the Invisible Wall back home in Brazil, Gilberto’s reliance on using intelligence to shadow an opposing player and force him back into his own half rather than brash tackling meant that he had an unusually clean record for a defensive midfielder: only receiving 9 yellow cards and 1 red in the 170 league games he played.
