Denílson
Pereira Neves
Born: February 16, 1988
Birthplace: Sao Paolo, Brazil
Height: 5' 11''
Weight: 68 kg Pos: M
Age: 19
GP 3 | G 0 | A 0 (2006/07 Premiership)
Denilson is currently the captain of the Brazilian national side at
U-19 level.
Starting his career at Sao Paulo, Denilson played 12 games as a
defensive midfielder before catching the eye of Arsene Wenger at
Arsenal.
Signing for the Gunners on the last day of the August transfer
window for £3.4 million (US$6.5 million), Wenger strengthened his
midfield options after the release of Pires and Bergkamp in the
summer of 2006.
Potentially the replacement for Arsenal's current Brazilian holding
midfielder, Gilberto Silva, Denilson has been named in Arsenal's
squad for their third Champions League match against CSKA
Moscow.
Denilson said upon signing for the club: 'It has been a dream for
me since I was young to play in Europe, but I never imagined I
could sign for a club like Arsenal so early in my career.
'I am going to try to my maximum and I want my football to mature
here.
'I really think I can become a champion with Arsenal and make it
into one of the best players in the world.'
In November 2006, Denilson was called up to the Brazilian national
side for a friendly match against Switzerland but failed to
feature.
He made his Premiership debut for Arsenal in a 1-0 defeat against
Sheffield United coming on as a substitute on December 30,
2006.
