After the protracted transfer saga of Edu and the clearing of Tomas Danilevicius' name, the turn has come for Silvinho to have his nationality questioned. Portugal's foreign ministry is investigating his right to hold their country's passport, according to Soccernet.

The 26-year-old Brazil left-back was born in Sao Paulo and got his British work permit through claiming Portuguese citizenship, which gives him the employment rights of an EU citizen. At the time of signing, Silvinho hadn't played enough games for Brazil to qualify for a permit.

The Ministry of Justice in Lisbon, which holds a register of all Portuguese citizens throughout the world, has no record of Silvinho, the article claims.

Silvinho has played 75 games for Arsenal in all competitions. The club states that they are satisfied with the documents held by all their overseas players.