Mikael Silvestre Moves to Arsenal!?

The News

Arsenal have today surprised the footballing world (well me anyway) signing Mikael Silvestre from fierce rivals Manchester United.

The French left-back will join the Gunners on a two-year deal after the two clubs agreed to an undisclosed fee.

Silvestre will now try to rediscover his lost talent, after spending much of last season on the sidelines following a series of injuries. He will challenge fellow Frenchman Gael Clichy for the left-back spot at Arsenal.

My Reaction

For me, Silvestre was an unsung hero at Old Trafford. He is a great player, and had a good career at OT before getting hampered by injuries. He was a great servant for United, and thoroughly deserves a testimonial.

He was one of the most hard-working and determined players at United, always giving his all in training according to teammates and staff. Had his career not been hampered by a series of injuries, I believe he truly would've been one of United's best ever left-backs. 

But maybe he deserves a move to Arsenal. He may prefer it there, as there is a rather French set-up at the club, as opposed to United's more Portuguese set-up. 

As Sir Alex has lost faith in him, at least he now has a chance to prove what he can do at Arsenal, as I am sure he will beat Clichy to the left-back spot.

But as a United fan, it saddens me to hear he's gone to Arsenal. He was a great player for United, and to hear he has joined a rival, it saddens and annoys me, although the latter is just because of my support for United!

It seems as if Fergie has lost faith in Silvestre, seemingly being annoyed at his unluckiness with injuries. It's not nice for any player to suffer that, rejection because of injury, not least for a player like Silvestre.

Had Silvestre been offered the chance to stay at United, I'm sure he would've done. But because United were seemingly annoyed with his injuries, and could've possibly needed to raise funds for the purchase of Dimitar Berbatov, they decided to give up on him and cash in.

Despite being a United fan, I have to say well done to Arsenal for capturing a player like Silvestre, and for his sake more than anyone's, I hope he does really well at Arsenal and becomes a legend there. He deserves it.