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Gabriel Paulista Is Arsenal’s Defensive Version Of Alexis Sanchez
By Josh Sippie
![By @cfcunofficial (Chelsea Debs) London (Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F7bcd344b17ae82769d7a6926e8f6537734bc33d47dc6a914fb566a4e7a89d510.jpg "By @cfcunofficial (Chelsea Debs) London (Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons")
I have done a lot of singing Gabriel Paulista’s praises lately. But still it feels as if he deserves a bit more. It has also become a common theme to call him the center back version of Francis Coquelin. The intensity, the timing of tackles and the complete lack of fear builds that comparison up.
But it is another Arsenal man that Gabriel Paulista resembles a bit more. That Arsenal man is none other than the golden boy, Alexis Sanchez.
The style of play draws the same comparisons as with Francis Coquelin. The intensity, the grit, the fearlessness. But what Gabriel Paulista shares with Alexis Sanchez goes beyond the tenacious play style. Both had very similar, very difficult upbringings. The stories surrounding Alexis Sanchez are already pretty well known. He had to play barefoot, which is where he gets his little hop-running. He did not get a pair of boots until the mayor of his hometown, Tocopilla, gifted him with a pair. He overcame every obstacle in his path to make it as one of the best in the world.
Alexis still visits the town frequently and helps his mother and the rest of his family out extensively. He has cited football as the source of what drove him to make a better life for himself and his family. Up until he joined the Premier League, he was Tocopilla’s personal Santa Clause at Christmas time.
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Gabriel Paulista too, had a tough upbringing in Sao Paolo Brazil. The things he has witnessed are not ordinary things. Gabriel used football as an outlet to not only better his own life, but his mother’s life as well. That motivation embedded within him a bit of desperation in his play style. That tenacity that is on display on the pitch is not just from a desire to be great, it is from a long past of playing for more than personal gain. He is playing for his family. He is playing to get out of a terrible situation. There is no amount of money or gain that can motivate someone more than that. And it is that motivation that continues to propel him to this day.
Just like the hopping/running that we see from Alexis Sanchez that hearkens back to his barefoot days dodging rocks, the tenacity that we see from Gabriel Paulista is a trait that will not fall by the wayside. The Brazilian is always going to have that intensity, just like Alexis is going to have that little hop.
It is a positive sign that Arsenal has two players with such fortified characters. Their play style is solidified and can be counted on for years to come. Francis Coquelin can even be thrown into the mix and counted on, giving Arsenal three guys along the same mold. While Coquelin does not have the same immersing back story, he has shown no signs of letting up.
Gabriel Paulista is going to win a lot at Arsenal and he is going to be one of the key reasons why the club is winning a lot.
Next: What Pokemon Would Gabriel Be?