The signing of Nemanja Vidic in the 2006 January transfer window had pushed Silvestre into the shadows and the injury problems suffered since mean he has rarely featured for the club.
Strongly linked with a move away - he seemed only days away from joining Bordeaux - before joining Arsene Wenger at the Emirates stadium for a fee of around £750,000 and bringing much needed experience to the Gunners' backline.
Despite his obvious attributes of speed and touch, his positional play is sometimes lacking. 'Tweetie Pie', as he is known to the United fans, also suffers from over-elaboration in pressure situations.
Silvestre signed for Manchester United in September 1999 in a £4.5million deal from Inter Milan as a defender who could play at full-back and centre-back. He immediately became United's first choice as partner to Jaap Stam.
Silvestre made his full debut for France in February 2001 and soon became a regular. He was a member of the squad at the World Cup in Korea/Japan but did not get onto the pitch.
He had a poor Euro 2004 with France, giving away penalties against both England and Croatia as France went out to Greece in the quarter-finals.
He struggled with form in 2005/06, during which he made his 300th club appearance, and injury put his place at the club in some doubt. As United's first choice defence in 2006/7 became Neville-Vidic-Ferdinand-Evra with Wes Brown, John O'Shea and Gabriel Heinze ahead of him, Silvestre looked headed for the exit. A dislocated shoulder ended his season in March and he played no part in the title run.
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