Arsenal: Gabriel Facing Pivotal Moment Of Career

Arsenal has to cover for Shkodran Mustafi now and Gabriel Paulista is ready as he stares down this most pivotal moment of his career.

It’s every footballers dream to play for a big club, like Arsenal, in front of 60,000 screaming fans and fight for glory. But there aren’t enough positions or big teams to give everyone the fulfillment of those dreams. Some players just aren’t going to make it.

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Gabriel Paulista is not going to be one of those people. Despite having a rocky first couple years with the Gunners, he is now facing the pivotal moment that could set the tone for his entire career.

Arsene Wenger has come out and said that covering for Mustafi falls squarely on Gabriel. Essentially, the Brazilian is facing the same opportunity that he had when he first arrived in North London – be the partner to Koscielny as Mertesacker was phased out.

“I must say [his English is] still not perfect. But he’s wanting always to do well,” Wenger said, as quoted by the London Evening Standard. “He has adapted very well to the right-back position and I think it helped him to lift his level of confidence.”

Gabriel holds his future in his own hands. While he probably can’t do enough to ward off Mustafi upon the German’s return, he can set the table for his future alongside Mustafi and prove that the job is his when timing permits.

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Gabriel has had numerous chances to lock down the role that Mustafi now holds, mainly last year, but fate just has not been on his side. Confidence and health are major stumbling blocks for the Brazilian (like so many others on Arsenal) and it took until this year for him to regain that health and that confidence, as well as improving his communication.

This is a big deal. I spoke over the weekend about how I’m bizarrely excited following Mustafi’s injury because it allows a resurgent Gabriel to return to the fray and shake things up in the defense.

I am also curiously sure that he will not make any mistakes and will instead prove that he belongs here and can achieve that every-footballers dream of making it in the big time.

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That all starts now. If he can’t take it, Rob Holding is right there to swoop in and make it his own and it’s not like Calum Chambers is that far off either.