I am still waiting for a photo of Gabriel Paulista standing next to Olivier Giroud or Aaron Ramsey. I am still half convinced that one of the reasons Arsene Wenger signed him was simply for the contrast with the vast majority of the other players in the squad. This Arsenal team is not abundant in players who wouldn’t look out of place standing in the shadows of a narrow alleyway – Francis Coquelin is probably the only other player in the squad who would make you move a little faster if you noticed him walking behind you. Gabriel, on the other hand, looks like a man who’s seen and done some very bad things. Let alone the shadows of a narrow alleyway, Gabriel wouldn’t look out of place leading a cartel, or as decoration in a gothic building. While Per Mertesacker looks like a man who’d give a random stranger a hug if they seemed sad, Gabriel looks like one who would cross the street to threaten a kitten that looked at him funny. It’s about time we had a defender who was actually vaguely scary.
Of course, we are yet to really find out if he’s going to be any good – although from the little we have seen, he doesn’t look like he’s going to be a flop in the style of Sebastian Squillaci or Mikael Silvestre. And for £11.2m, the most Wenger’s ever paid for a defender, you’d hope he’d be half decent. He has, in the few opportunities he’s had so far, looked reasonably solid. He’s clearly faster than Mertesacker, capable of making excellent last ditch challenges, and is superb in the air – he’s got a much better jump than Mertesacker, who does sometimes seem to forget that it may be necessary for him to move off of the ground, meaning that in terms of aerial duels Gabriel is at least as good as the German despite the height difference.
Essentially, so far Gabriel has simply reminded me of Koscielny. The main difference is that Koscielny doesn’t look like he’d break your legs if you didn’t pay him back the fiver you owed him. He appears to be a very similar type of player to the Frenchman, and in terms of ability doesn’t appear to be far off either – quite remarkable, given how little time he’s had to settle in, and the fact that he’s five years younger. His manager at Villarreal, despite his relatively short time at the club, was known to be overwhelmed by his potential, and apparently once sat in the stands on the opposite side of the pitch to the dugouts (he was serving a touchline ban) simply to focus on Gabriel.
However, it is these similarities with his potential central defensive partner that may actually work against the Brazilian. The reason the Mertesacker-Koscielny partnership has worked so well is because the two complement each other – the German is disciplined, stays in position and reads the game, allowing the Frenchman a bit more freedom, while also covering for Mertesacker to prevent the opposition taking advantage of his lack of pace. Mertesacker and Koscielny, without going into too much detail, are very different players. That is why the partnership has worked. Gabriel and Koscielny, on the other hand, are not. There is the danger that, especially while Gabriel is still struggling with the language, a partnership of the two – although great on paper – would simply result in gaping holes in the defence as both gave themselves a bit of freedom, neither holding position and dictating the line.
Ultimately, Gabriel is a very nice option to have, and a superb prospect. He allows for a bit of rotation every now and then, especially for Koscielny, whose recurring Achilles problem is a constant source of concern. There can be little doubt that Gabriel looks like he’ll be a key part of our defence in the future. But, for this season at least, I think we are much better served by continuing with the defensive partnership that has served us so well.
