Gilberto Silva has warned that his old side Arsenal could face the same problems as Manchester United once long-serving Arsene Wenger leaves the club.
The midfielder, part of the stunning Invincibles side of 2003/2004 as a destructive force alongside Patrick Vieira, is unhappy at the criticism of Wenger by Gunners fans over the lack of trophies in the past few years.
And Brazilian Silva claimed once Wenger departs, which he could do at the end of this season as his contract is up, Arsenal fans might be in for a shock – and to look north to Manchester United‘s decline once Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013.
Speaking at the Soccerex Global Convention in Manchester this week, he said: “Arsene at this time is facing a lot of criticism for the way the team play and they haven’t got the trophies.
“But if people see the entire job he has done for the club, it has been amazing. I hope people do realise that, because when he leaves the club at some point it won’t be so easy to replace him.
“You can see, for example, at Manchester United where it’s not been so easy to replace Sir Alex Ferguson. It’s important for Arsene and for the club to start to prepare somebody for when he leaves.
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“I don’t know if it will be this season as his contract is expiring. He loves the game, he loves what he does and he loves the club.”
Over two decades, Wenger has won three Premier League titles and six FA Cups, but have always fallen short in the Champions League – But Gilberto believes Wenger’s intervention has changed the club for the better.
He added: “As a football manager, to stay in a club for 20 years you have to congratulate the guy for achieving such an important thing in his life.
“The way he changed the club by bringing new ideas and helping bring in good players for the club, that meant they got the results everyone expected. This is not so easy.
“Sometimes he will make mistakes and when you fail, sometimes people don’t forgive you.”
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