Brazilian midfielder Carlos Luciano da Silva ‘Mineiro‘ was in action for an Arsenal XI on Wednesday afternoon as the Gunners beat London rivals Fulham 3-0 in a behind closed doors friendly.
The fixture was arranged for manager Arsène Wenger to give the 33-year-old World Cup winner a run out as he is a free agent after being released by Hertha Berlin, and he clearly impressed playing alongside James Dunne in the centre of the park.
Arsenal ran out 3-0 winners with Rui Fonte, Jay Simpson and the aforementioned Dunne all on target, restoring some confidence after a 7 game unbeaten run was ended to Chelsea two weeks ago.
Mineiro will now be assessed by Wenger and Reserves boss Neil Banfield who took charge of the game, however, in the mean time he will continue to train with the second string while the first team are at Blackburn later today.
It is understood that Birmingham have offered the experienced midfielder a two year contract, but with City only playing in the Championship, the diminutive hard man would prefer to play top flight football. A decision is expected before next Wednesday, meaning he could feature for the Reserves against Portsmouth should the management wish to have a second look.
The experience he possess will be sure to have rubbed off on some of the prospects here.
Article By – J.Sanderson
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Disappointing to be competing with Birmingham City for a 5’6″, 33 year old player. It’s a pretty far cry from Xabi Alonso. Or Stephen Appiah. Are we looking to save on wages, for God’s sake?
Interesting read.
Would he be a better player than Gilberto was in his final season in your honest opinion?
maybe, i think it’s good his fitness has been judged, even if it is alongside our Reserves. I think Gilberto did quite well for us when he started, it’s just when he had to come from the bench he never really adapted to the tempo.
But still, great experience for the boys.
It;s not about him being Gilberto or vice versa, it’s about what those players are willing to accept. Mineiro would be more prepared to accept a squad role than Gilberto.
He is an established player, he would ask for large wages i would say.
Good News, he is very solid DM with a powerfull ‘long range’ shots, reads the game very well and a good passer..I think we should get him ‘right now’.
Keep up the good work, Thanks.
At 33 I don’t think u can ask for too big of a wage especially when Gunners start knocking on ur door. Anyway he will be decent with really two years and back up to offer. Not really needed but welcome anyway for depth. Nowhere near as good as Appiah.
Minerio was Brazil’s first choice WITH Gilberto as recently as last year. However Dunga was heavily criticised for having two defensive midfielders who offered nothing in attack. Minerio has a great engine and can run all day but at 33 adapting to the Premiership to play a role in a title challenge is a big ask.
Edit…
Rasict Attitudes Will Not Be Accepted Mate, Let’s Debate, Not Abuse.
To all those providing negativity to the possibility of Arsenal signing a free agent, I say perhaps Minerio could teach Denilson a little something about putting a boot into someone. He would give us an experienced “Hard man” (or at least, as hard as Brazil gets) to teach the youth and deputize over the DM position. We all like to have experience and depth, right mate?
He would add depth and experience to the team and also not kill the development of youngsters if someone younger was signed.
*Your Link Has Already Been Added, Don’t Take The Piss*
I have read that Chelsea are also interested in signing Mineiro. If that is the case it would be interesting to see who he chooses as I am sure he knows Scolari very well.
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Your taking the piss aren’t you Ahassan? you just ripped off this article, could have at least linked.
The ‘Thing’ is..is he going 2 sign 4 us or not..!! I’m tired of waiting, snd I think we should make a move now and sign this guy before ‘Chellski’ gets him, he’s really that good + we NEED a DM so Mr.Arsene do some thing MAN…!!!
Jay Simpson is going on hard , is there any info on who played for either sides
I find it depressing that it has come to this. We get the 2nd best free agent defensive midfielder available because we were either too incompetant or stingey to sign one in the Summer. I have always been an optimist until last Summer when we signed Henry. I was proved wrong but only to an extent last season. Each season our squad gets weaker, each season we spend less and less money and each season one of our best players leaves and are rarely replaced with anyone up to the required standard.
So heres my take on Mineiro, he’ll be better than nobody. But seriously, why has it come to this when we pay £50 a week for a ticket? It’s an insult to the fans. Yet again we’re handicapped against our rivals for no apparrant reason, it’s the equivalent of Usane Bolt whering hiking boots and saying he can still beat the competition. I’m seriously that Wenger only wants to win the league if it’s through adversity.
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I think AW is going for free agents because he could be planning for signing Xabi Alonso during the Jan transfer window
If Usaiyn Bolt wore hiking boots, he WOULD still have beat the competition………
Is good to have more midfielders for this long season. Injury problems have taken away to many of our trophies over the past few years.
it’s obvious. Wenger always plays brinkmanship in the transfer window, in the hope that he can get a good deal. He normally does. this time it backfired as Liverpool were unwilling to part with Xavi for under 15m. Wenger now realises he needs a body in until this situation can be resolved in the Jan transfer window, and also some cover in the centre for a gruelling european campaign. We need someone tall and strong, however.
JS can u tell me more about josh rees his he the black dude or white one i know we have two promising wingers rorie deacon and josh rees whos better? And also do u know anything about nick meade apparently hes another good wide player we got
mineiro is not as good as appiah, we should go for appiah who is 6 years younger, and a better player. we should tru to get xabi alonso in january to have large enough, quality wise too, if cesc got injured or some other unespected situation. Appiah was on atletico’s and juventus wish list, mineiro is on birmingham wish list, we can cleary see who is the better player
Why do people keep going on about Stephen Appiah hes not even that good. Song is better than him as shown by the fact that Song was in the ACN team of the tournement as a CDM infront of people like Appiah. People seem to forget that Song is a very good choice at CDM.
why did we sell gilberto then he is great experience, a world cup winner also, and he is 2 years younger?
We didn’t exactly sell Gilberto. It was a mutual decision. Arsenal didn’t want to hold him back from a new challenge after all that loyal years and Gilberto didn’t mind taking it up.
It’s different from packing him off.
i think most of you are missing the fairly obvious idea that if wenger goes for Minierio its because he intends to buy someone for the same DM position (probably alonso) and minierio is a low cost squad strengthening move till then – so stop whinging about it!
would be good to see him against pompey reserves to see how good he is. Surely his experience would help song denilson etc also good to see rui on score sheet again
Does anybody know the Arsenal team that was put out for this behind closed doors game?
The thing is, at 33, it seems Wenger might be doing what a couple of us Young Gun readers wanted him to (ditto Silvestre). Get in a bit of experience willing to sit on the bench, get the odd game when needed and be solid, teach the kids a thing or two and most importantly, keep the squad large enough for when the turnover of academy kids starts to happen. So Mineiro comes for a season, it means Denilson and Diaby can comfortably move into more first team roles, while next year Ramsey and Coquelin can properly move to where Denilson and Song were last season. Silvestre covers Traore and Pedro. I like Arsene doing this. Appiah is a terrible injury liability and, more so than anything, we don’t need someone with another 5 years left in them, because bar Diaby, all our central midfielders are 21 and under, and quite frankly, are all mostly going to be better than him. Appiah (or Alonso for that matter) harms someone like Denilson or Coquelin getting a real chance, whereas with World Cup winner Mineiro, we can get the best of both worlds.
i think wenger would only wants mineiro until end of season. if wenger sign appiah, he would demand longer contract, at least 3 years. i dont think wenger wants that. i believe wenger plan was to play diaby from the start of this season but diaby got injured. denilson turns out to be a little too early for regular first team action. so clearly mineiro can provide short term solution, just to get through this season. and he won’t complaint being squad player. as for gilberto, he feels he still got 2 years of good football in him and not prepare to be squad player, so move away is the best for him. i think we should not complaint about mineiro, after all he still regular with brazil national squad.
I think the age issue is there but should be looked at on a case by case basis. If Appiah is 27 by with a lingering injuries then he’s not a good signing. With luck a 33 year old can still be in strong form depending upon his history, luck and unique physiology. It seems Mineiro is in good enough shape to also be of interest to Chelsea, which is telling. And I think Wenger believes as much in his ability to get the unexpected best out of an older player as out of a young one, doing which is dependent upon the character and attitude of the player -no matter what his age. I’m keeping faith in the fact that Wenger’s looking at all these things, and will make the right decision as to whether he should be signed or not…and what better way of testing him than with our fantastic reserves? Great scoop!
Some of you make me laugh, thinking you know better than Arsene as to who is a better player out of Appiah and Mineiro. I think goon3r is right – Arsene does not want to ‘kill’ the youngsters he has coming up and a short-term stop-gap player like Mineiro is just right for us at this time.
agree with g0on3r and passenal.
Gilberto was allowed to leave because he had served the club well and deserved the chance to go in search of first team football. Mineiro will likely only get a one year contract, two at most by which time Arsene hopes the likes of Diaby and Denilson will be able to compete with the best.
I’m half Ghanain, i would of love us to sign Appiah, BUt ya need to understand that, we have got 3 african players. We are looking for DM. Now when the africian Cup, come round again we will lose a lose players, So S.A was not the idea to solve the problem.
Like A.W said he looking for the right player. He went for Alonso, Inler and M,Bia and he got not hope. So why should he buy just for the sake of it. What will it solve.
I remember not long ago we were crying that we have not got a replacement for Helb. But now we are all kissing the ass of a little player, so called Gooner fan doubted as the next henry.
Like what a lot of true Gooner Fan say, “Wenger knows Best”
Mineiro, will fill the the hole need for a few season while the likes of Rambo and Fran (fab Mk2) come to muture.
(sorry for the Grammar and spelling)
has anyone got a picture of him playing for the reserves
http://sport.setanta.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/09/12/Prem-Pompey-extend-Jebriel-trial/?facets/sport-space/great-britain-locale/
jibril on trial with pompey
denilson will never compete with anybody…the kid cant pass and he’s weak and i don’t like him. period
WOW, so many IDIOTS on these boards!!!!
What is wrong with giving a trial to a free agent? WTF IS WRONG WITH THAT? NOTHING!!!!
Flamini was a free agent, Ljunberg, Lehmann, etc… just because you are free doesnt mean you are shit, I fail to understand the fans view on having to spend big to compete, you are so stupid, do you think Arsenal can afford a Veron? £25m+ on a shit player?
And my main point is, Mineiro is on trial, if he is shit do you think Wenger would even bother putting him in the team? If he is good enough he will sign and play for us, simple and cheap!
So many “fans” think they are more intelligent than Wenger and they think they know which players to sign and for what money, well I got news for you, you dont know shit.
I doubt wenger will sign him
If Wenger would have thought appiah was good enough, he would have signed him. U guys seem to think Appiah is like a god or something. If he’s that good he would have a club already, he’s a free agent for crying out loud.
Mineiro is the next Thierry Henry
Appiah iz a free agent coz he quit fenerbahce due to a flaw in the medical staffs judgement.. i seriously dont know what wenger sees in mineiro. wen an even betta Appiah iz available (who can pass, break-up play and is also a good finisher.. honestly sumtymes i feel lyk slappin sense into Wenger but ARSENAL 4 GREATNESS nonetheless
bert, just because you don’t like him mate it doesn’t mean that Wenger doesn’t.
Mineiro ought to be better than Robinho, Arsene knows.
Denilson has potential but hes not there yet as far as im concerned. On the bright side when he plays his best hes good, influences games and can get a goal or set one up, as well as doing a job in midfield. But sadly he has more avarage days that good ones. Mineiro would give us an extra head in a position where we’re lacking a bit at the moment, and hes a quality player aswell.
Id like Appiah, ive always been a massive fan of his and as far as im concerned when hes fully fit hes Ghana’s best player, not Essien. But hes got major fitness problems and he’d want games when fit as well as big wages, where as Mineiro wont be too put out if hes benched now and again and is put in the middle wage bracket (around 40k a week) rather than being on 60-70 as Appiah would probably want, so Appiah would be a bigger risk.
has anyone got any video clips of him because i cant find any.
Sorry about taking ur news J.Sanderson. It was naive and pure journalism on my part. Soz. won’t do it again. I linked now to ur site.
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I knew about him but the news was from u. soz.
If we do end up signing Mineiro, we’ll have a very experienced as well as mature team. Silvestre, Gallas, and now this guy are all over 30 which should give us some good balance. Besides, I feel Wenger is bringing him in for cover when Diaby and Denilson play, more than an actual leader expecting game time.
there is talk in the papers of him going to Chelsea instead as Scholari knows him from his Brazil days and needs cover for Essien
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqQVYalHgRw
ive said it before, ill say it aggain….it is 90% done that we will sign veloso from sporting lisbon…..it is a very, very reliable source.
Haha, Let’s Hope So.
he is just like Gilberto but he cant head the ball :O don’t know if he is still good though…
Appiah is not a DM!
i think he wud be graet for arsenal
I am very curious to what will come out of this! If Arsene signs him, then there is no reason to complain. It simply means he sees something in this veteran player.