jones Gabriel btw what a colossus. Might be the best transfer since we moved to the Emirates
Honestly, thank fuck the Partey got injured at the start of the 23/24 season as that experiment with him at RB just to fit in all of Rice, Havertz and Odegaard was a failure.
It also really felt like Gabriel was definitely out of favour back then because the idea that it was solely to bring in Partey to RB just to have that midfield doesnt make sense. If it did it would not have resulted in Gabriel missing out but rather be White missing out. Instead we moved White to RCB, Saliba to LCB, Partey to RB, Rice to 6 and Havertz to 8/10. 5 players playing out of their strongesg positions.
Now whether that happened as a result of Arteta wanting to bench Gabriel, or whether benching Gabriel was a result of wanting to play those players in those positions, we can't say for sure but who knows where Gabriel would be now if we had had Partey fit and at RB for the whole season?
Glad we never needed to find out and he'll be here for the next 5 years. Aside from all his talents defensively and in the box at both ends, he's a great leader and his passion is infectious. He's been pretty much my favourite player at the club for 2/3 seasons now.
