Gabriel Magalhaes is slowly facing a frustrating reality that gradually surfaces every season and in every era. No matter how good a team might be or even how poorly many players might perform, there seems to be this unconscious need amongst the Arsenal faithful to have one player who faces contextually more unfair levels of criticism than most.
The criticism comes in large numbers and typically thanks to a low frequency of high-profile errors, which appear greater in comparison to their teammates. Gabriel is becoming the 'scapegoat' player at Arsenal, and in short, it is not fair and needs to be stopped.
There are many reasons and plenty of evidence to explain why so let's start with those explanations. To kick off, consider William Saliba.
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The Frenchman has been brilliant. Wait, no, that doesn’t cut it.
William Saliba has been unbelievably fantastic in every way, shape and form. That’s better.
His speed, composure, strength, aura and passion immediately made him a likeable figure. Combined with three years of build-up, it was always going to result in this cult following and appreciation. Add in one of the best chants the Emirates has witnessed; frankly, it’s a recipe for perfection.
Gabriel is competing with that. That is the player alongside him, this figure of the Arsenal future and a symbol of everything missing from a Gunners centre-back for many years… or is it?
Because the physicality and presence certainly haven’t been lacking whilst Gabriel has been in the team. Forget about Thomas Vermaelen and Shkodran Mustafi being muscled off the ball incessantly. Arsenal have a man mountain in Gabriel, an intimidating centre-half who has only got better since his arrival.
Is he perfect? No. Few centre-halves are, but finding a left-footed central defender to upgrade on him is a task I certainly wouldn’t want to be in charge of.
Big Champions League clubs, and what do they have in common? All have been linked with a move for Gabriel, and rightly so.
So therefore, why is he being singled out for criticism? Well, in fairness, he has been involved in a number of incidents that have cost the Gunners goals.
The Alexander Mitrovic moment against Fulham, rushing out of defence rashly at Old Trafford and giving away a penalty against Tottenham. Arsenal won two of those three, but unfortunately, that is enough for some, and just like Granit Xhaka before him, high-profile errors make it difficult to see the quality through the stigma and reputation that grows so rapidly.
"He's the one who looks like he'll give you a chance, Gabriel," Jermaine Jenas said in BT Sport commentary of the derby.
"He's not as confident on the ball as Saliba. Giving it away cheaply, isn't he?" Martin Keown chipped in and said.
Let's roll that back, "not as confident on the ball as Saliba." Who is?
In all my time of watching Arsenal, and plenty of football outside of the Gunners, I have seen very few defenders, especially at the lower end of the 20s age bracket, that are as confident on the ball as Saliba. Comparing a decent ball-playing centre-half to a brilliant one and claiming that to be a valid criticism just seems off.
The irony is Gabriel has a pass completion of 90.5% to William Saliba's 92.6%, according to FBRef. That's higher than Cristian Romero (88.9%), Virgil van Dijk (88.2%) and Kalidou Koulibaly (86.7%).
He's hardly playing it safe either, with a higher progressive distance per 90 in his passing (339.8 yds) than the Spurs defender (304.4 yds). And only slightly behind his French teammate (356.2 yds).
The mistakes in his game can largely be put down to one key structural factor that applies far more to Gabriel than it does to Saliba. Consider the typical Arsenal back four for this season: Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel and one of Oleksandr Zinchenko or Kieran Tierney.
The dynamic of the defence sees the right-hand side operating more offensively than the left. In short, Zinchenko or Tierney are far more likely than White to be involved in the build-up or final third action and, therefore, more susceptible to being caught on the counterattack.
Therefore, Gabriel is tasked with covering an even larger area than Saliba does. The Frenchman has White giving him plenty of cover (see the match against Crystal Palace and Liverpool for examples), whereas Gabriel often has to contend with having a greater presence of mind and judgement of when to sit, press and drop.
This, therefore, lends itself to moments we saw at Old Trafford. Sometimes, as players do, they make errors and misjudgements and rush out too rashly, costing the team.
These moments should not overshadow Gabriel's strong defensive qualities. Compared to some of the best central defenders in the league, he is coming out on top in many areas.
More clearances per 90 (4.44) than Van Dijk (3.75), Ruben Dias (3.73), Koulibaly (3.68) and Saliba (3.00). More blocked shots per 90 (0.88) than Romero (0.67), Dias (0.53), Koulibaly (0.35) and Saliba (0.22).
A better successful pressure percentage per 90 (45%) than Koulibaly (44%), Saliba (43.1%), Dias (42.2%) and Romero (23.5%). More tackles won per 90 (0.89) than Dias (0.53) and Van Dijk (0.13).
Arsenal have a good player in Gabriel. More than good, so do not let some individual errors cloud the overall view surrounding just how good the Brazilian is and what an asset he is to this team.
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