Gabriel rose highest. The ball crashed into the back of the net. The Brazilian dashed off towards the Arsenal support. Against the run of play, the Gunners found themselves ahead on the patch of Manchester City no less.
It was another emphatic celebration from the Arsenal centre-half who scored for successive weeks. Why have Erling Haaland up top when you have the Haaland of defenders at the back? Gabriel is prolific and a man for the big occasion.
A week ago he scored the winner in the north London derby and very nearly netted the winner again, only for another defender in John Stones to pop up late on and rescue a point for Pep Guardiola’s men.
What a peculiar match that was. Everyone expected Arsenal to sit back but their hands were forced when Leandro Trossard was sent off on the verge of half-time for kicking the ball away. It was Declan Rice versus Brighton all over again.
But Gabriel, together with his partner in crime William Saliba, rallied and helped to withstand nearly 60 minutes of pressure once injury time was said and done to take a share of the spoils from Manchester. And breathe. Everyone can breathe now. We go again in February when the two teams will meet again at the Emirates Stadium. A potential title decider awaits.
So, how have Mikel Arteta’s men got themselves into a position where they stand a realistic chance of winning the league? Gabriel and Saliba have to be commended.
Why Gabriel and Saliba are so special
During the 2022/23 season, there were concerns surrounding Gabriel. “He’s rash and makes mad, wild decisions,” voiced the ever-outspoken Rio Ferdinand.
Well, how he has proven the doubters wrong over the last few seasons. He is now one of the foremost defenders on the continent and together with colleague Saliba, have established one of the best defensive partnerships in the Premier League era.
No team conceded fewer than Arsenal’s 29 in the top-flight last season. In fact, since their star Frenchman was introduced into the team, his record of keeping clean sheets is rather awe-inspiring.
This term, he has been part of a backline who have kept four clean sheets in six games. Last term it was 22 clean sheets in 48 matches and the campaign prior 13 shut outs. Arsenal have steadily been getting better and they have their monstrous defensive partnership to thank.
Saliba vs Gabriel. League stats for the 2023/24 campaign.
Only last week, Jamie Carragher wrote for The Telegraph that ‘William Saliba and Gabriel are on threshold of joining great centre-half pairings’ alongside the likes of John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, and Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. Quite right but they must win the Premier League at the very least first.
Either way, just to be mentioned in the same breath as those icons is quite something.
Saliba is a ray of composure and perhaps doesn’t quite have the same aggressive nature as Gabriel but they complement each other tremendously. The latter has even become quite the regular scorer of goals.
1. Gabriel
16
2. Kurt Zouma
11
3. Lewis Dunk
10
4. Ben Mee
10
5. Virgil van Dijk
9
6. Michael Keane
9
7. Fabin Schar
9
8. John Stones
9
He’s far and away the most prolific centre half in the country and he takes some stopping from set-plays, scoring the winner against Tottenham last weekend and popping up against Man City on Sunday too.
It obviously takes the right player to be so good in these situations but the right routine must be put into place and for that they have Nicolas Jover to thank.
Gabriel vs Manchester City (2-2 draw).
He currently forms part of a duo behind the scenes who have proven to be every bit as important as Gabriel and Saliba over the last seven days.
Arsenal's next-best duo
Jover is becoming quite the household name in English football. He isn’t the first of his kind but he’s perhaps the most famous set-piece coach in the land.
Lured from Manchester City, like Arteta was, he has racked up quite the record while among the Spaniard’s coaching staff. He’s left many in awe, including the club’s manager.
Arteta said last week: “In his field [he is the best], in other fields and as a person. And the relationship that we have – that’s why I made the decision to bring him to City when I was there and then to Arsenal. Him and the rest of the staff have injected the belief to the players that there are many ways to win football matches.”
The 42-year-old is often seen on the touchline the moment Arsenal get a set-piece and you can see why. The Gunners have won so many games – including the derby against Spurs – courtesy of their set-plays. His intricate attention to detail is second to none and the numbers say it all.
Arsenal's set piece record under Nicolas Jover.
Last term, no side in the Premier League scored more goals from set-plays than their 22. When it came to conceding goals, they shipped just six from corners and free-kicks, the second-best record in the division.
In 2022/23, they found the net 15 times from dead ball scenarios, the fourth-best tally in the Premier League. So, remarkably, they are getting even better.
Described as a “pleasure to work with” by Trossard, the players must absolutely adore him. Set-pieces have always been important but their crucial nature has only been heightened by the incredible numbers Arsenal are racking up.
So, who else is part of this duo? There are a number of coaches within Arteta’s team but goalkeeper coach Inaki Cana deserves praise for the work he’s putting in with David Raya too.
Both lured from Brentford, it is perhaps no coincidence they get along so well. It’s since they’ve worked together at Colney too that Raya has become one of the best glovemen in the world.
The Spaniard has shown as much this term, making an astonishing stop to deny Ollie Watkins in the 2-0 win over Aston Villa and then making a jaw-dropping double save to keep out Mateo Retegui’s penalty and follow-up effort against Atalanta last week in the Champions League.
How did Cana play such an important role? Well, while there was a VAR check to determine if the penalty should stand, Raya darted straight over to his goalkeeper coach and took on plenty of instruction.
“He helped me a lot in every aspect, so credit to him as well”, Raya said at full-time. “He does all the work with everything and it’s credit to him as well for the save.”
If Arsenal do eventually prevail in their quest to win England’s top division, Arteta will no doubt be the man who takes most of the praise. However, he has quite the coaching team – Cana and Jover included – who are helping take this team to the next level.
Alongside Gabriel: Arsenal star who made 0 passes all game bullied Man City
Arsenal nearly escaped the Etihad with all three points.
ByMatt DawsonSep 22, 2024
