Gilberto Silva has blasted Didier Drogba for dismissing Arsenal's title hopes in the wake of Thierry Henry's departure.
The new Arsenal captain believes Drogba is being disrespectful to the Gunners by suggesting they will not be able to mount a title challenge without Henry.
Gilberto has hit back at Drogba aiming a swipe at Chelsea's failure to win the Premier League last season.
"So Drogba said we're already out of the title race, did he? Well, let's wait and see what happens," Gilberto told The Sun.
"What I do know is last season Chelsea spent a fortune on new signings and still couldn't beat Arsenal once in the league.
"They didn't defend their title either, so I think Drogba is talking a little bit too much."
Gilberto also welcomed Arsenal's move for Croatian international Eduardo da Silva and he is confident the striker will do well at Emirates Stadium next season.
"We played against him in the Champions League. He appears to be a good player and a great striker but we'll have to see how he settles in and adapts to English football," added Gilberto.
"I think he could do well. It will also be excellent to have someone in the team who speaks Portuguese.
"We'll lose a heck of a lot without Henry. He was our main player, the captain, the top scorer.
"It's true that replacing him will be no simple task. But we can't go through the kind of spell as we did when Patrick Vieira went to Italy.
"He was the leader of the squad and it took us time to adapt to playing without him. We don't want that again."
Source : www.skysports.com
By Peter ORourke - Created on 7 Jul 2007
