Silvinho has been a big hit with the Arsenal fans, which is all the more remarkable given that he's pushing out one of our all-time favourites, and last season's player-of-the-season.

The good news regarding that man Nigel Winterburn is that Arsène Wenger has made it clear that he wants Nige to stay. Given Arsenal's refusal to sell youngster Ashley Cole to Crystal Palace (where he has excelled in a loan spell this season), we had been wondering if they would let Winterburn go too easily.

That looks unlikely now, and Wenger has also said that Nigel wants to stay, he loves the club like a fan. But the lure of regular first-team action may yet prove too much.

Let's hope not. The value of having defensive reserves who can slot seamlessly into the system when needed cannot be overstated, and that's what we have with Nigel and Silvinho.