Silvestre Moves to Arsenal

The Gunners completed one of the summer's surprise signings yesterday when they took Silvestre off Manchester United's hands for just £700,000.

The former French international had been poised to join Manchester City, and was reportedly in the midst of a medical at Eastlands when he discovered that he was on Arsene Wenger's radar.

Some are flummoxed by the move, as Silvestre has been out of favour at Old Trafford for several seasons. Once touted as one of Europe's best defenders, in the last few years the ex-Internazionale man lost his place in central defence to Nemanja Vidic and was ousted from the left-back slot by both Gabriel Heinze and Patrice Evra.