Arsenal: Gabriel's Sudden Change Can Only Be Positive
Arsenal’s wealth in the midfield is replicated in the defense. Therefore, this huge lift in confidence from Gabriel will only bring about good things.
From the moment Gabriel came to Arsenal, it was clear what kind of player he was. On the pitch, he was a fierce competitor, playing the game like his life depended on it. He was ferocious, almost to a fault.
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Off the pitch, he is humble, soft-spoken and almost timid. It was quite the amalgamation of personality.
However, there were some inherent flaws in this as well. Gabriel did not exude much confidence when he was fighting for a spot. At least not up until this point in his North London career. He seemed to take it as it came.
But then again, he didn’t really have a choice. Injuries kept getting in the way, which can obviously take a toll on one’s confidence.
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That’s why these latest statements from our Brazilian warrior have me all jazzed up.
“If a player is at Arsenal it must mean they are great, and whoever the manager picks to be in the starting XI is good enough to be there,” he said, via Arsenal.com. He went on:
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“The fight to get a place in the team will be a good fight, and Arsenal benefit from this competition between players. Us players will always try to get a place in the team. I’m going to train very hard to try and get in the team, to get in the starting XI, while at the same time showing respect to my team-mates.”
In one statement, Gabriel mixed everything we could have wanted to hear from him. He showed solid confidence, essentially calling himself a great player, and he showed determination and fight to not just accept that Mustafi had come in and gotten in the way.
The thing with Gabriel is, even when he was new to the club, we saw the quality that he had. There has been very little fault on his part. His athleticism is plain to see and aside from a few mental lapses, he’s been very solid. Perhaps a bit physically lacking at times, but still.
The only thing that has gotten in his way is injuries. We would not have seen Mertesacker much, if at all, last year if Gabriel had managed to stay healthy. This lad is a talented defender, the trick is keeping him on the pitch, where he can build on this confidence and push this new center back combination to their limits.
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Gabriel still has a part to play in this defense. I’d wager it’s a pretty big part as well.
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