Arsenal legend Gilberto Silva calls for calm after disappointing start to Premier League season

Arsenal Invincibles legend Gilberto Silva is reluctant to sound the panic alarm after the Gunners' disappointing start to the season.

Mikel Arteta's men have fallen nine points behind Premier League title rivals with defeats to and denting their hopes of dethroning defending champions .

A string of injuries and suspensions haven't helped Arsenal's case either, with summer signing Riccardo Calafiori out with a knee injury after a positive start to life in north London. Club captain Martin Odegaard has only just returned from an ankle injury that saw him miss 12 games.

England duo and have also fought through the pain and are teetering on the edge of time on the sidelines. will play seven Premier League games before the end of the year that could make or break their season - but Gunners legend says it's not time to ready the panic stations.

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"The season hasn't started as we expect them to," Gilberto admitted to ahead of his charity match against Team Roberto Carlos at Lewes's Dripping Pan. "The last few years have been so nice. They have done well fighting for the title. And then we expect them to have a great start. But it's not the end of the . There's a lot of games to be played."

Arsenal aren't only competing with Man City this year. Liverpool have enjoyed a reemergence under Jurgen Klopp's successor, . The Dutchman has scored the most points out of any Liverpool manager in the first opening 11 Premier League.

appears to have also found the right click with Enzo Maresca after burning through three permanent managers since a consortium of investors led by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly bought the West London club from Roman Abramovich in 2022.

Arsenal can't afford to drop any more silly points, the 2002 World Cup winner insisted. "The question is about recovering the points and not losing silly points," the 48-year-old said. "Because it's going to be a tough season again. Not only against City, but Liverpool is back.

"And then we have other teams who are doing very well. So it's going to be very tough until the end. They have to recover. And not only win the games at home but especially away games."

Odegaard's absence caused a crisis in midfield. Attention turned towards £105 million man Rice and whether he was able to affect the game in the opposition half while the Norwegian recovered.

However, Gilberto, who operated in a similar position in his playing days, says Rice is executing the role he's been told to do by manager Arteta. "Listen, when you don't get the results, sometimes people talk. They need to find something to say," Gilberto said.

"Declan is a good player. Sometimes you have to put some energy into the game, some pace. In some games, you can't hold the ball so much.

"But it's just about them focusing on what they have to do for the team to perform. It's important for everyone to focus on what they have to do in order to win the games and especially kill the game when they have to."

Gilberto Silva faced World Cup teammate Roberto Carlos in football match to raise money and awareness for suicide prevention charity the