A dodgy Portuguese passport may well be the reason Arsenal has decided to sell Silvinho. According to the BBC website, the 27-year-old Brazilian international is at the centre of the FA's inquiry on Premiership footballers with double citizenship.

Silvinho has played two seasons for Arsenal on the strength of his second Portuguese nationality, which has made him an EU citizen without the need for a work permit. He only established himself as an international after coming to Highbury, and may so have been unable to attain a work permit if signing and playing only as a Brazilian.

The club is, according to the BBC, very uneasy about the whole story, knowing well that playing with ineligible players in English and European competitions carry penalties in both cash and points. The saga of Edu's passport wasn't exactly the club's idea of a good time, either.

Silvinho's whereabouts are unknown, but he is reported to be joining Celta Vigo in the Spanish Primera Liga. Another report claims he will return to Corinthians in Brazil. Which ever way it goes, he's surely finished as an Arsenal player.

See this story for more on the bizarre share deal being talked about between Arsenal and Celta.