Former Arsenal captain Gilberto Silva has paid tribute to manager Arsene Wenger.

Gilberto admits Wenger's patience helped him establish himself in England.

"In Brazil, a central midfielder gets the ball and sometimes plays it to the side. In England, that's not very useful. You have to play it forward. It was important for me to adapt," recalls Gilberto to the Mail on Sunday.

"Arsene identified this area in which I needed to improve my game and he came to me in a very good way to tell me this. We spoke privately, without anyone else knowing.

"I think this is a very good way of managing. I have seen some managers expose their players in front of the others at training or say something publicly. He never did that with me."