Silva polishes treasure chest

Arsenal v Birmingham: Wenger has two Brazilians competing for Petit role but he will not flinch at playing both

In that entertaining summer sideshow of Premier League oneupmanship enacted by Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, each will hail himself the victor. While the former has shopped with ostentatious extravagance in football's equivalent of Knightsbridge to procure the costliest defender, his Double-winning rival has disappeared down a side street and acquired what appears to be the steal of the close season, a World Cup winner to play alongside another, Patrick Vieira.

As we await confirmation that the injured Rio Ferdinand merits his near-£30m fee, evidence of Gilberto Silva's potential contribution to the Arsenal midfield, and to their scoring tally, has already been forthcoming in last Sunday's defeat of Liverpool in the Community Shield.

As David O'Leary, who was dismissed by Leeds United before he had a chance to pursue Silva, declared enviously: "I was going to make a move for him. At £4.5m he could be the bargain of the season."

It is perhaps a measure of Arsenal's desire to reinforce their Premiership domination that they now have two Brazilians, Silva and Edu, contesting a key position, the "Emmanuel Petit" role, in tandem with Vieira. Giovanni van Bronckhorst, when he returns from injury, will add to the competition.

Edu experienced a troubled start to his Highbury career at the beginning of last year. First, he and the club had to resolve passport "irregularities". Then he struggled to impress Wenger, who admitted: "I wasn't sure about him. But at the end of last season Edu made a huge impact."

The manager added: "It is very important [to have both players] because they are at the heart of the team, in the middle of the park. I am very happy because they are two outstanding characters and two team players. Edu has come on so well, almost beyond expectations, and Silva, well, it looks like he will adapt very quickly.

"At the moment he's not really 100 per cent ready. He's had no pre-season [training] and I've just played him in games. But he looks so intelligent and has such an understanding of the game that I think he will play a big, big part in our success."

Nevertheless, could it not be a source of possible conflict, with the Brazilians vying for the same position? Wenger dismisses the suggestion. "Sometimes I can play with three [in midfield] and one behind, or with Edu wide left. I think Silva can play all across the midfield, but the holding role just in front of the defence is what he does best.

"Anyway, we have so many games. We have three central players for two positions and that's not too many."

Certainly, neither Brazilian appears perturbed by the competition Silva's signing from Atletico Mineiro will create. "I welcome Gilberto with open arms. Brazilians are a very united people and I will do everything I can to help him settle in quickly," insists Edu. "He's a cool guy and a great player. I'm not worried about Gilberto as a threat. As we say in Brazil, the sun shines on everybody. Everyone has their chance and his transfer will only make Arsenal a better team."

For the 25-year-old Silva it will be an fascinating transition in football cultures after that heady night in Yokohama six weeks ago when Ronaldo finally breached the resistance of the Germans to claim the World Cup for Brazil. This afternoon at aHighbury still in celebratory mood after last season's feats, he will have to acclimatise swiftly to a more tempestuous kind of football against promoted Birmingham.

"Winning the World Cup has only made me more determined to win more," he said. "I have achieved the dream but that has left me with new goals and at Arsenal the aim is to help the team win more titles. I know that English football is strong and fast, but I also know that many world-class players play here and that there is great technique too."

His emergence has been nothing short of spectacular. A year ago, the former furniture-maker, sweet factory and quarry worker played for a little-known club and had not represented his country. But then fate intervened when the Brazil captain Emerson suffered a freak accident in training, dislocating his shoulder, and Silva was given his chance.

He accepted it voraciously, appearing in every game during the finals. Though he provided the anchor in midfield, he was not averse to getting forward and examining the opposition with his dribbling skills. It was a performance that immediately registered with Wenger and the Frenchman moved with alacrity. As an alternative to the over-priced Mark van Bommel, Wenger's original target, it demonstrated that every cloud has a Silva lining.

Throughout his squad Wenger boasts such quality. Crucially, he has retained the services of Vieira, a success which has also helped maintain continuity at Highbury, although Wenger is frustrated by new transfer rules which, he says, allow too much freedom for players to move while still in contract.

"At the moment, the contracts are not reliable and you can't plan for the future," he said. "The people who invest the money and pay the players' high wages do not want the players to move at any opportunity. A team is more than transfers in and out, a team is being together for a while. Modern rules are killing football."

That observation apart, he exudes an air of supreme confidence. When it was put to him that the team who finished above Arsenal and Manchester United would win the title, he retorted defiantly: "Nobody will finish above us. I believe that the belief is higher than last year, when we'd had two seasons of frustration. But every year since I came to England the competition has been increasingly hard."

None the less there is no doubting his determination that Arsenal will replace United as the superior force in English football. "That's our challenge," he declared. "I said that after the Manchester United game [last season] and many people thought I was being arrogant or pretentious. It's not that. I just wanted to show that we did not just want that to be a unique achievement and then relax again. I feel there is a potential with this team."

He added: "The championship is the priority, but being strong in the championship will keep us strong in Europe. They are linked. I know that the players are all saying they want to win the Champions' League, but the best way to do that is to win the championship."

A midfield now containing not one, but two World Cup winners, one French, one Brazilian, will play a vital part in the fulfilment of that ambition.