Is Gabriel Magalhães the most underrated defender in world football?

Gabriel Magalhães has become a cornerstone of the Arsenal team. He is the only outfield player to start and play in every minute of every game this season, and he has grown into one of the leaders in the group.

During his time at Arsenal, he has largely been a very consistent figure but has often been criticised for letting his emotions get the better of him, leading to some rash decisions, most notably his red card against Man City last season, which ultimately cost his team.

However, that emotion has become more controlled this season. It will never go away, and nor should it. It is a huge part of who he is and why he is such a warrior at the back for Arsenal.

Is Gabriel Magalhães the most underrated defender in world football?

Once again this season, he has impacted the game at both ends of the field, pitching in with three more goals, two of which were match-winners against Fulham and Chelsea. Those three goals have taken his Premier League total to ten in three years, making him the highest-scoring defender since the start of last season.

Alongside his threat in the box, big Gabi has become crucial to Arsenal’s build-up play. Alongside William Saliba, the Brazilian is tasked with playing a high line and continuously recycling play to enable the team to control games and force opponents into a low block.

This involvement has led to him having an average of 74.8 touches per game, with only Thomas Partey (77.3), Oleksander Zincenko (82.4) and William Saliba (77.6) having more touches per game.

He also boosts a highly impressive pass completion rate, averaging 90% per game, with an average of 57.5 completed passes. Only Saliba completes more passes per game, with an average of 62.9 (91% accuracy).

But, the really interesting stat comes from his passes in the opposition half. This season, he has had an average of 23.4 passes each game, with an 85% completion rate. By comparison, Virgil van Dijk averages 22.0 with a 79% completion rate and Lisandro Martinez averages just 15.3 with a 76% completion rate.

The only defenders who average higher passing numbers in the opposition half than Gabriel Magalhães are at Man City, which won’t come as a surprise to anyone, given their dominance in games and the high line they play.

While stats aren’t everything, they do give a good indication of why things happen on the pitch, and Gabriel’s numbers are a direct influence on how Arsenal retain possession in such an effective way. He is not only a technically secure passer, but he releases it quickly, and positively, taking minimal touches before passing to a teammate. This is key to an efficient build-up.

And his defensive numbers are just as strong. Despite conceding two penalties earlier in the season, he has grown into a steady head and is standing up to attackers; going to ground less, and is very rarely turned and found wanting.

Psychologically, this creates doubt with attackers. They have to beat him. We’re no longer seeing a player who will dive in, which is why his ground duel numbers are so high. He has only been dribbled past six times this season, averaging at 0.2 per game, while also winning 2.5 ground duels per game, and making 1.3 tackles per game.

These stats are up there with the very best, and are considerably better than VVD and Lisandro Martinez, with only Ruben Dias being dribbled past less. However, he has wins a lower percentage of ground duels (57% to Gabi’s 75%).

Aerially, we’ve also known he is good, but aerial duels are the area where he is underperforming, winning just 54% compared to Dias (68%) and VVD (73%). This will no doubt be something he is working on, and if he nails it, will be a monster at the back.

In short, Gabriel has become one of the best centre-backs around, and his numbers show that. Like with many in the squad, there is still a lot of room for improvement, and having just turned 25, he could become one of the best in world football.