Arsenal: Gabriel Paulista Cannot Be Trusted Yet

In Arsenal’s 2-3 defeat to Man United on Sunday, the Gunners’ defense, especially Gabriel, could not keep the young United attack at bay.

Arsenal were defeated 2-3 by Manchester United on Sunday. Though the Gunners started well, they soon fell apart in defense and United’s 18 year old Marcus Rashford capitalized.

In the 29th minute, an early cross from the right found its way into Arsenal’s box. After Arsenal failed to clear, the young Red Devil struck it home with confidence. Minutes later, United’s Jesse Lingard put in another cross from the right, which snuck its way onto the head of- you guessed it- Marcus Rashford and was flicked perfectly into Cech’s net. By the way, it was the 18 year old’s Premier League debut.

Next: Gabriel is Backtracking

Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck pulled one back at the end of the first half following a beautiful, Ozil-crafted set piece. Ander Herrera responded though, and made it 3-1 in the 65th minute to give United a cushion before Ozil himself pulled another goal back for Arsenal.

The implications for Arsenal following this arguably disastrous result are clear. I don’t want to get carried away with this, but something must be said. Arsenal is not going to win the title if this performance was a sign of things to come. The Gunners were not only flat. They were bettered by a younger, less-experienced side of a club that has struggled immensely over the course of the current campaign. The gap between Leicester and Arsenal has widened to five points, and Tottenham now sit three points above Arsenal in the EPL table.

Arsenal’s poor defensive performance today was highlighted by one constant in particular: Gabriel Paulista. The Brazilian struggled throughout the match, to say the least, and was taken advantage of by United’s spry attack.

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First, Gabriel nearly conceded a penalty in the 12th minute. Then, and more importantly, the center back was caught wrong-footed by an early cross from United right back Guillermo Varela leading up to the Red Devils’ first goal. Koscielny was busy marking Juan Mata’s aggressive run into the box. The alone, unready, Gabriel couldn’t deal with the ball at his feet, and ultimately gifted a goal to Marcus Rashford.

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Minutes later, the Brazilian let Rashford drift in front of him, providing all the space needed for the 18 year old to flick home with a well-placed header following Lingard’s cross into the Arsenal area.

Though Arsenal’s performance should not be blamed fully on Gabriel, it was not a match to remember for him. As a spectator, one can’t help but think that Per Mertesacker would’ve been the better choice for Arsene Wenger to start at the back given the Brazilian’s shaky performance.

After all, the more experienced and arguably more composed German would have most certainly had the positional awareness to disallow Marcus Rashford from drifting into an ominously dangerous area on United’s second. One can’t help but wonder if Mertesacker would’ve swept clear Varela’s cross leading up to United’s first.

Maybe the Gunners would’ve been victorious at Old Trafford if Wenger had elected to start Mertesacker over Gabriel?

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This match proved that Mertesacker deserves the starting spot alongside Laurent Koscielny in defense for Arsenal. Though the German has certainly had some hard times at the back, it is his superior composure that propels him above Gabriel in defense as of now. After all, Mertesacker certainly makes less defensive errors than Gabriel per game (squawka.com).

ESPN FC certainly didn’t go easy on Gabriel’s Player Rating today either, and – sadly – it must be considered that his performance could be foreshadowing of what is to come for him in future, crucial matches. Moreover, Paulista’s partnership with Koscielny is much less developed than Mertesacker’s.

In conclusion, Gabriel might be a promising work in progress under Arsene Wenger’s wing. However, the Boss now needs to call upon the more trustworthy Per Mertesacker to partner Laurent Koscielny in Arsenal’s back four in order to give Arsenal a genuine shot at the title in May. Playing Gabriel in pivotal league matches is, for now, an unnecessary risk to take.

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