Man-God Gabriel: Page 8 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

Man-God Gabriel

Don Pacifico

That's it - I'm not worried about a mistake here and there, that's part and parcel with his style of defending but as you say, it's been every game this season and we've been lucky to get away with it a few times already. I don't think this is a suggestion that he's inept or anything but as Burnsy said, something doesn't seem right with him mentally at the moment - his focus just isn't there right now.

Burnwinter

Yeah, it seems like a judgement and focus, rather than technical issue. Perhaps with White shunted and Tomiyasu dropped he's worried about his place in the lineup—could be a self-fulfilling prophecy the way he's going.

Meatwad

his hair hasn't fully grown in yet.

Claudius

Don Pacifico wrote:
That's it - I'm not worried about a mistake here and there, that's part and parcel with his style of defending but as you say, it's been every game this season and we've been lucky to get away with it a few times already. I don't think this is a suggestion that he's inept or anything but as Burnsy said, something doesn't seem right with him mentally at the moment - his focus just isn't there right now.

The guy is covering large amounts of space on the left hand side of the pitch. The way our team is set up, there is likely to be much more chaos on the left than the right because all of Xhaka, Martinelli and Zinchenko push very high, leaving only Partey and Gabriel to cover that space. Previously, it was Xhaka getting stuck in these spaces (remember him trying to kick Jota's head off). We are more compact on the right hand side. Saliba, White, Odegaard and Saka are much more static.

That is the context. And this is why he is more likely to have a clanger than White and Saliba. Play a back 2 of any of White, Saliba, and Tomi, and I guarantee you that one of them will quickly turn into the new villain that cats want to chase out of the club because of these spacing issues.

Don Pacifico

I hear you but the types of mistakes he's making aren't positional (ie. the type of errors that come from your teammates leaving you exposed), they're lapses in concentration - bad passes in dangerous areas, lazy leg tackles, dwelling on the ball etc.

I'm still an advocate for his but I do think he could benefit from rotation one way or another.

Claudius

Fortunately we have Tomi who can play LCB

JazzG

If he keeps making mistakes like this a serious conversation needs to be had about him. The frustrating thing is he’s fine 95% of the time but always has these brain farts in him.

Anzac

IMO the main error for the pen was Xhaka passing the ball back to Gabriel when there was opposition players in close proximity. Yes Gabriel should have cleared it first time, but likewise Xhaka got caught with poor body position and should have also looked to clear the area and put the ball into touch if needed.

Claudius

This was also my interpretation. And somehow Gabriel needs to be benched.

Clrnc

I think people didn't watch the match in detail and just caught the highlights so focused on the obvious penalty conceded.

Same for his previous "mistakes", they failed to acknowledge where the real problem is. Like you said its mostly structural

flobaba

Eh. It's not entirely structural. He has his blood rush to the head moments. But he is a better defender than he is currently being given credit for. He's learning his craft still, and should improve with good coaching and proper players around him that he can observe (Saliba). He's not as technically gifted as most of the team, but he makes the most of his physical gifts. Give him a break or whatever he needs to refocus, and he'll be fine.

RocktheCasbah

Anzac wrote:
IMO the main error for the pen was Xhaka passing the ball back to Gabriel when there was opposition players in close proximity. Yes Gabriel should have cleared it first time, but likewise Xhaka got caught with poor body position and should have also looked to clear the area and put the ball into touch if needed.

I sort of agree with this, in that if Xhaka hadn't done what he did, Gabriel isn't put in the position that he was of having to make a tackle, but it was still a really stupid tackle.

lorddulaarsenal

Given we moved for Lisandro i think Arteta wants someone with better ability on the ball in there.

Don’t think we were after Lisandro to play the role Zinchenko occupies either

flobaba

Quality sprinkle, Quality sprinkle, Quality sprinkle

Bosscielny

Big Gabi's a great defender. I think he has some ways to go before he understands how to use all the physical tools he has, but at his age there aren't many around i'd be picking over him, especially considering his technical ability. He only looks especially clumsy and heavy footed at the moment because he has Saliba and White on one side and Zinchenko next to him on the other.

It's pretty evident though that he has a mistake in him. Long term i'm not particularly worried about it. Most of his issues seem like ones that he will be able to cut out of his game with experience and i'm struggling to remember him making the same mistake twice.

However, i think it's possible that if they remain a part of his game for much longer that, like Xhaka, people won't be able to overlook them when it comes to rating him fairly and seeing what else he contributes. I think him and Xhaka have very similar profiles actually, both in the way they play and their temperament too.

TambourineMan

The fact that Gabriel is a 'problem' is an incredible testament to far we've come.

Tam

I see him as a player who is always going to have Xhaka-lite tendencies - rushes of blood to the head or stupid decision-making moments. Some of it may be ironed out with time and more experience but I reckon it's 50/50 on whether it improves or not. His red card against City last year for example, Xhaka got a lot of heat for upping the tension which led to that incident, but it strikes me as the type of stupid mistake Gabriel might always suffer from if he can't control himself.

It's largely a risk v reward issue though. Arteta needs to figure out when Gabriel's confidence levels are tipping the balance towards being too much risk and take him out of the team.

Coombs

I have to say, I like Gabriel. My hope is that his nervousness gives way to his passion over time, if that makes sense. He's the kind of guy that can get the whole team riled up in a good way, he has that intensity and edge that can help the team resist going static, especially when he makes a big tackle or drives forward.

Obviously there are a few downsides to that, which are still part of his game. As long as the forwards can do their jobs (score more fecking goals) it'll be a worthwhile tradeoff.

Burnwinter

You have to think that if he is backed in a defence of this quality, any psychological issues will ease off a bit.

When you think about the squad overall, though, you've got an excellent player in Tomiyasu benched, and an excellent player in White who could be moved to right centre half at any time to accommodate Tomiyasu's return. The competition for places is greater since Saliba's return and I suspect it's a factor in Gabriel's seemingly increased tension.

Coombs

Maybe. It might also be the stress of having a genuine chance, however small, of going to a WC for Brazil. I know that when I have big professional opportunities that may or may not pan out, I'm nervous as fuck all the time until I know one way or the other.

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