Arsenal: Gabriel Paulista transfer defining for Arsene Wenger

Arsenal has a knack for latching onto players and never letting go, so the potential transfer of Gabriel Paulista is a pretty big leap for faithful Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal looked to make an incredibly intelligent signing when they landed Gabriel Paulista two summers ago. He was a fiercely competitive center back whose only big question was communication.

And early returns indicated that he was the next Laurent Koscielny. But, as will tend to happen all too often, injuries got in the way and here we are years later and Gabriel is still a rotation player in an expanded three-back system.

It’s been no fault of the Brazilian. Again, injuries have done him in. His defensive ability is plain to see every time he gets onto the pitch.

But now we have confirmation from the Metro that Valencia are interested in landing Gabriel’s services. Which puts Arsene Wenger at a decision point.

On one hand, you have this loyal defender who is incredibly dedicated to the Arsenal badge. He has the ability we’d want, he just hasn’t been able to stay healthy long enough to make a real go of it. The improvement can be seen, however, and there is optimism there.

On the other hand, he is already 26 years old, he is still recovering from an injury as we speak, he is going to be playing catch up all season and given how much I stand up for Calum Chambers, I have to admit that giving Chambers the upper hand in a comparison doesn’t sound like the worst idea, as the Englishman is younger and has proven himself in need of a chance.

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This isn’t an easy decision. Not many people can say they don’t like Gabriel and for Wenger, sometimes that is enough. He is as loyal a manager as Gabriel is a player and normally, so long as that loyalty is there, Wenger will not sell. Just as Theo Walcott.

But Wenger has indicated that he needs to trim the squad in order to make any other additions. Meaning that Gabriel could join the list of exits, especially if the Gunners really are in this new world of steady improvement in every transfer window. Virgil van Dijk is still out there and there’s no denying that he would be an upgrade.

I often advocate for players like Leon Goretzka to come in and upgrade on Mohamed Elneny, so I’d hate to sound hypocritical and not support van Dijk coming in for Gabriel. The difference for me, though, is that van Dijk doesn’t have the loyalty gene that Gabriel does.

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And that’s why I can’t wrap my head around a Gabriel sale. Nor a Chambers sale. Give these guys a chance and spend the money elsewhere.

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