Gilberto - The attributes that made Vieira a great

They were the bedrock of our 2003/04 Invincibles, so it’s no surprise to learn that Gilberto loved playing alongside Patrick Vieira.

The duo were widely regarded as one of the finest central-midfield pairings in world football - but what was the secret to their success?

“Patrick was a real leader - on the pitch, outside the pitch,” Gilberto told Arsenal Player. “Apart from that, he’s a very nice guy who everyone wants to cooperate with. He was always very helpful.

“On the pitch, you could trust him. Any time he was there, we knew that it would be much easier for us in the middle. It was a great partnership, me and him, because the understanding about the way we played, the way we managed the…