Robust and reliable, Arsene Wenger saw the advantage of having his experienced head in his back four
The versatile French defender quietly made more than 350 appearances since joining United in September 1999.
Able to play left-back or central defence, Silvestre is quick, robust, and can cue up dangerous attacks.
He started at French club Rennes, playing three seasons there before Inter Milan snapped him up in 1998. Good form in Serie A saw Alex Ferguson secure his services for £3.5m, and he went on to form central defensive pairings with Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown.
The departure of Gabriel Heinze to Real Madrid should have seen Silvestre fighting with Evra for a regular left-back berth, but a cruciate knee injury in 2007 ruled him out for nearly 7 months. In that time, national compatriot Evra had well and truly established himself as the first choice defender. With reported interest from Manchester City and Bordeaux, Silvestre chose to move to Arsenal when Wenger came calling. In doing so, he became the first Manchester United player to transfer directly to Arsenal since Viv Anderson in 1987