Denilson remains one of Arsenal’s great riddles
At the start of the season many people had written Arsenal out of the title race and some even believed they were the most likely candidates to drop out of the top four. Arsene Wenger’s side have however, silenced the majority of their critics in what has so far been a successful campaign. For me the most impressive area of the Arsenal side this season has been the midfield. In typical Wenger fashion the Arsenal midfield has consisted of predominantly young players, many of whom have come on leaps and bounds in the last year. The likes of Alex Song and Samir Nasri have been instrumental this season and despite just being 22 years of age, the pair are fast becoming invaluable to the Gunners cause.
As much as I have complete admiration for the likes of Song and Nasri, there are still several members of Wenger’s academy whose performances have often puzzled me. The Brazilian Denilson, for example, is a player who has shown a lot of promise at the Emirates yet has often given Jekyll and Hyde performances in the last few years and unlike Song and Nasri is struggling to cement a place in the side.
Many eyebrows were raised in the summer of 2006 when Arsene Wenger shelled out £3.5 million for a relatively unknown Brazilian. The then 16 year old Denilson had made just 12 appearances for Sao Paulo and was yet to break into the first team however, the Gunners boss had clearly seen potential in the youngster and wasted no time in bringing him to north London.
In his first season the Brazilian spent much of his time learning the English game and thus only appeared for the Arsenal first team in Carling Cup ties and occasionally the Premier League. The following year however, would see Denilson become a far more integral part of the Gunners side and after the departure of several key figures such as Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva in the summer of 2008, the youngster was thrown in at the deep-end somewhat.
During the 2008-09 season, the quality of Denilson’s performances greatly varied. Although the youngster would often show glimpses of brilliance, it was obvious to many that he was not yet experienced enough to fill the boots left by his predecessors and he found himself on the end of criticism on several occasions. The Brazilian would respond well and it became clear that his game was fast improving, standing him in good stead to play an important role for the side in the following campaign.
However, the 2009-10 campaign has seen Denilson lose his place in the Arsenal starting line-up. A lengthy spell on the treatment table combined with the much improved performances of Alex Song has meant that the Brazilian has featured on a less regular basis this year. In recent weeks the youngster has found himself filling in for the Cameroon international in the defensive midfield position and I have been intrigued to see what he has offered the side. His performances have, in my opinion, once again been hot and cold and whilst there have been inspired spells; the absence of Song has been obvious.
The midfielder has improved his attacking play and it is worth mentioning that the youngster demonstrated his Brazilian roots by scoring a stunning free-kick against Hull yet I still cannot work out how much I believe in him. His potential cannot be doubted and he is still only 21, young for even Arsenal’s side but he could do with taking a leaf from Song’s book in trying to enforce his presence on games. He is a promising midfielder, but with Fabregas, Song and Nasri all of a similar age and currently excelling, I am unsure as to how important a figure he will prove to be for the Gunners.
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He is an automatic starter when fit. He plays a vital role in between Fabregas and Song. No problems with him at all.
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I have never understood Denilsons role in the side. He is neither offensive or defensive.
Although the stats suggest he rarely loses possession this is because he passes out of trouble to player who then takes the mess on, one generally two yards to the side or behind him like Fabregas or Song who then have to shield/skill their way out of the mess and maybe pickup a kick or two and fairly so as the passes besome 50/50 balls.
The fact he strikes a 30 yarder every blue moon when in fact the golaie should have done better or its taken a massive deflection is no defense case.
I would say he is one of the few Wenger has bought in amongst the similar ability bracket of Pacal Cygan, Oleg Luhzny etc. If I had had a healtheir heart (his one redeeming feature) I would even back myself over him, and i’m no Paul Davis.
We have Song, Fabregas, Diaby, Rosicky, Nasri, Ramsey who can all play centre-mid. Song and Denilson can’t play in the same side and Song is 100 times the player. I would even give heart and Sol a trial at holding while one Song is on duty.
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Christian, you are remarkably wide of the mark.
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I’m confused, if he was bought as a 16 year old in the summer of 2006 how can he be 21 now? Surely he would only be 20 in the summer of 2010 which means he is only 19 now. That’s 3 years younger than Nasri & Song,(if their ages are correct) putting his performances into a different perspective, don’t you think?
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Denilson has potential but seemed not to believe in himself. All he needs to do is to engage in up-your-face physical defences more often when required and be more proactive,which is in him. The reward will be huge,may be inclusion in the national team if he puts his mind and effort into it.
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I apologise that was terrible maths on my part, he was 18 in 2006 and turns 22 next month.
Brown I 100% agree with your comment
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Perhaps effort aside, in every sense he is SIMPLY ORDINARY when compared to all other elite midfielders (a bit like Kuyt at Liverpool).
Every other midfielder at Arsenal has something special about them (touch, forward passing ability, speed, strength, height, goal scoring, tackling, dribbling ability, etc).
If he was faster and stonger then maybe he could justify his place. He seems like a nice guy but currently he is at best a squad player and only merit’s that due to his experience.
Again he is so ordinary.
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Hey Ben,
I’m not looking for an argument but what qualities do you believe he possess? For a centre-mid certain attributes are required, not all of them but at least a couple from the following: height, size, speed, touch, vision, height, strength and understanding of the game.
Yes he’s young, but so to is Cesc and Song, he can only improve to an extent it appears. I just personally feel uncomfortable when he plays and it seems as though we are down a man and in one of the most important positions. I wish he would turn into Gilberto and prove me wrong but i dont see it.
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Right, so he needs height, size, strength and height again…?
What about his excellent defensive awareness and tackling ability? Or his touch, shooting, passing and grit?
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He is just not physically strong enough in that position and unlike Fabregas his close control is not good enough to keep possession. He is one-paced and loses so many 50/50 challenges.
He is not in the same league of these warriors: Viera / Petit / Edu / Gilberto / Flamini / Diarra / Song.
The big thing about him is when we are playing well and teams stand off us then he performs decently. When we are under pressure he capitulates because he doesn’t have the physical or technical gifts to succeed when time and space are limited.
When we play the big teams he is almost always second best. If we tried to sell him now would he even command a fee of 10 million?
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