Denilson Bio Send To Friend  

Denilson signed for the Gunners on the last day of the August transfer window for £3.4m, as Arsene Wenger strengthened his midfield options after the release of Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp in the summer of 2006.

Starting his career at Sao Paulo, Denilson played 12 games as a defensive midfielder before catching the eye of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

Bought as a replacement for Arsenal's former Brazilian holding midfielder, Gilberto Silva, Denilson was named in Wenger's squad for their third Champions League match against CSKA Moscow; but showed that his passing skills were more similar to team-mate Cesc Fabregas.

Although he was ever-present in Arsenal's 2006-07 Carling Cup campaign, he only made his Premiership debut for the club as a substitute on December 30, 2006 in a 1-0 defeat against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Having risen to captain the Brazilian national side at U-19 level, he continued to impress when given the chance to showcase his skills in the first-team and is viewed as an important squad player.

Denilson secured a new long-term contract with Arsenal in September 2009.