He was once touted as 'Arsenal's future' by one of their greatest, Patrick Vieira, but we all know football can be a cruel mistress and five years after those bold remarks, Denilson's career has just gone from bad to worse.
"We need to give him more time to develop as a player but he can be one of the best players at the club." said Vieira back in 2010. To be fair, for a short period, Denilson did nail down a regular place in Arsenal's starting line-up, declaring that "it is my time to write my history in the pages of Arsenal", but it never really worked out for the Brazilian midfielder.
In 2011, Denilson declared that he wanted to move on from Arsenal, stating that he was "fed up of coming home and feeling down.", so he returned to former club Sao Paulo on loan, and made the move permanent in 2013. To the surprise of many, he then joined Abu Dhabi based side Al Wahda in the summer of 2015, but failed to make an impact in the UAE Pro League.
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In 2016, Denilson returned to Brazil on loan at Cruzeiro and after making just two appearance for the club, his loan contract has been terminated.
He is only 28-years-old.
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There was no doubting his ability. Denilson's partnership with Cesc Fabregas in the 2-man Arsenal midfield was a delight back in 2008/09 but it just hasn't worked out for the central midfielder, once touted as Brazilian football's next big star.
What could have been, ey.
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