Did you know there’s a one in seven chance of being a professional footballer if you’re born in Brazil?
Honestly, look it up.
Arsene Wenger’s pursuit of Brazilian forward Malcom has got us reminiscing about the samba boys who’ve turned out for Arsenal in years gone by.
A mixed bag, we’re sure you’ll agree.
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Sylvinho (1999-2001)
Sylvinho Mendes Campos Junior was the original BTEC Roberto Carlos, possessing a similarly destructive left foot.
When not bothering goalkeepers’ wrists he could be found flying up and down the left flank at Highbury, although Ashley Cole’s emergence meant he missed out on the invincibles era.
Four La Liga titles and two Champions League medals more than made up for that when he left Arsenal for Barcelona although the presence of Carlos limited him to four national caps.
Juan Maldonado Jaimez (2001-2004)
Juan’s Arsenal career was unfortunately ended by an ACL knee injury .
He moved from Sao Paulo in 2001 but only played against Grimsby Town and Gillingham before a two-month loan spell with Millwall.
While he was never seen in Europe again he did pick up two caps for Brazil in 2008 after impressing with Flamengo.
Edu (2001-2005)
A fake Portuguese passport delayed Edu’s £6million move from Corinthians for a couple of months but didn’t stop Arsenal from going through with the deal.
He played 30 times during Arsenal’s invincible season and at one point looked destined to pull on an England shirt after gaining British citizenship.
That never happened but he’ll always be able to say he was the first Brazilian to win a Premier League medal. Not too shabby.
Gilberto Silva (2002-2008)
Gilberto is exactly the type of midfielder Arsenal could do with nowadays.
For six years he sat in the engine room of Arsenal, winning the Premier League, two FA Cups and two Community Shields.
His performances in north London were so good that the London Zoo named a giant anteater after him.
Denilson (2006-2013)
Complaints of neck injuries when attending games at the Emirates went through the roof between 2006 and 2013.
Much of that was down to Denilson, whose sideways and backwards passing was a feature of Arsenal’s play before he returned to Sao Paulo.
He was last seen playing for Abu Dhabi outfit Al-Whada.
Julio Baptista (2006-2007)
Baptista was a bit of a cult hero at Arsenal following a 12-month loan move from Real Madrid.
Two goals against Spurs- three if you count his own goal- helped Arsenal reach the League Cup final.
The Beast also won a surprisingly high 47 caps for Brazil before flirting with a move to Bolton.
Eduardo da Silva (2007-2010)
It’s difficult to talk about Eduardo without bringing up the horrific leg break he suffered against Birmingham.
He was a typical Arsenal signing- neat and tidy but not particularly threatening.
Eduardo recently signed for Legia Warsaw as he looks to see out his career in the Polish top flight.
Andre Santos (2011-2013)
Thankfully Arsenal Fan TV wasn’t really a thing when Andre Santos played for Arsenal.
As well as some of the most lethargic performances to grace the Premier League the Brazilian full-back managed to p*** off supporters by swapping his shirt with Robin van Persie.
That would have been a bold shout at the end of a game, but to do it at half-time was almost impressively incendiary.
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