Arsenal: Gabriel Paulista success hardly surprising and certainly not new

Arsenal signed Gabriel Paulista to be the heir to Laurent Koscielny and he has always been nipping at the heels. This success should not be surprising.

Arsenal’s compendium of defensive talent is such a wonderful improvement from the days where we had two and a half functioning center backs. You need look no further than how well stocked that back three is, and how much better it will get when Calum Chambers returns.

Some find it rather surprising, however, that Gabriel Paulista has taken so well to it, but anyone who has seen the Brazilian in his short time at Arsenal should know that this isn’t that surprising.

Gabriel has proven to be an incredibly fast learner. When he first came over, communication was a major problem and it led to some mental gaffs, but the athletic portion of his evaluation was sparkling. Look no further than him pocketing Romelu Lukaku on two separate occasions.

Rather than be surprised, or think that this is something new from the new formation shift, think of it as a culmination of his communication improving, as well as learning different facets of the game.

He has always been right there, nipping at the heels of the first team. He is one of our best tacklers, he is strong in the air and his positional awareness has improved by leaps and bounds. He hasn’t been “rediscovered.”

More from Pain in the Arsenal

If anything, he has simply found new ways to emphasize his strengths. Even before the 3-4-3 took hold, he was used in the back two and sat deep, inviting pressure. He absolutely thrived in that role, showing how strong his positional awareness had improved since his first voyage.

The 3-4-3 pushes him back out to be a roving center back. He doesn’t sit back like his initial “reinvention” had him doing, he is pushed out to use his athleticism on both sides of the ball, which falls in line with how he was initially used upon making the move.

To say that this is a “new Gabriel” is drastically unfair to him. This is how he has always been, even last year. It’s just that every time he would get his legs underneath him and start strutting his stuff, he would go down with an injury and let Per Mertesacker back into the starting XI.

Next: Arsenal's complete 2016/17 player ratings

Improvements will keep coming for the Brazilian as he irons out what kinks remain, but rest assured, this is, has always been, and will continue to be what we can expect from him in an Arsenal shirt. Now we just have to wish him a speedy and comprehensive recovery.

Home/Arsenal News