Gilberto Silva reveals the Arsenal star that came close to matching him

Gilberto Silva, former Arsenal star, formed a perfect partnership with Patrick Vieira at the Emirates and making great impact for the north London side during their playing years.

The Brazilian spent a successive six years at Arsenal and was part of the Invincibles squad before leaving the club in 2008.

Arsenal in recent seasons have lacked the strength Silva and Vieira used to bring to the side and Silva believes that only one Arsenal star came close to rekindling his impact at the club.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Silva said, "I thought Alex Song could have been the one to do this role but he went to West Ham and Barcelona," he said.

"Flamini in my last season he did a great job which is why I didn't play which was very frustrating for me.

"I think those two are the best," He added.

Arsenal holding midfielder Francis Coquelin was compared to Silva but the Brazilian thinks the26-year-old does not possess the qualities to pay in such role.

"I remember hearing a comparison with Coquelin when he was playing but when I started to see him I could see there was something missing in his game to be a holding midfielder and sacrifice himself for the team," he said.

"You cannot blame the player for this but need to find a player who can play there.

"The role is to play simple. I couldn't do the same as Henry, Ronaldo and the like and you have to know this to play there." He added.