Interview

Gilberto – How it felt to score against Spurs

Fans will fondly remember our first north London derby at Emirates Stadium in 2006, when Gilberto Silva struck twice from the spot to down Tottenham.

The World Cup winner was captain that afternoon, leading us to victory in the absence of Thierry Henry.

“I was the vice-captain and Thierry was the captain and the penalty-taker, but he spent most of the season injured, so I took the responsibility as the captain on the field,” Gilberto told Arsenal Player.

“When you train something, you feel prepared for it. Maybe before I was not used to taking penalties, just a few times I had an opportunity to: in a penalty shoot-out against Uruguay in the Copa America in 2007. I started training after the training sessions and when you practice something, you feel confident when you do it. This was the reason I was the penalty-taker that time and I had the chance to score a few goals from penalties.

“I knew [how important those goals against Spurs were] because always when you play against your biggest rivals, everything you do positive on the field counts. I scored two goals from penalties on that day and it was amazing - I scored against our biggest rival in a very special game for the club and for the fans.”

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