Arsenal are allowing Gabriel Paulista to join Valencia in a £10 Million deal supposedly, but are lacking options at present.
The Gunners fielded a back three of Sead Kolasinac, Nacho Monreal and Rob Holding last Friday, and conceded three goals in a 4-3 thrilling opening match victory.
The win would have been much the more comfortable had our defence NOT allowed so many goals to be scored obviously, but that has not deterred us from trying to offload Gabriel.
Laurent Koscielny is currently banned, serving the third of his three-match ban this coming weekend, although Shkodran Mustafi should be fit to feature soon following a late return to training after international duty.
When fit, we do have a number of options, with Kosc, Mustafi, Chambers, Monreal, Holding, Debuchy, Kolasinac and Gabriel at present, although two or three of those are linked with the exit door at present.
It could well leave us short of options if all of those exit-linked stars were to go, and we may well have to find a replacement for Gabriel prior to allowing him to return to La Liga.
The Brazilian has failed to have the impact expected when he was signed from Villarreal back in January 2015, but did show glimpses of ability in our new back three that could have given him a chance to play.
Does Gabriel have a role to play in our squad? Does he need to be replaced should he depart? Would Paulista’s exit mean Chambers must stay?
Pat J
What? Gabriel is leaving? This is news to me!… I thought he was injured.He is a good cover for the defence! We should hold on to him!
I’d rather see Beilik. A big lad, hopefully he’ll have it up-stairs ..which Gabriel does not am afraid. Gabriel has very good attributes, speed, aggression, 100% trier, but the most important one is not among them. Maybe he’d be better in Kante role, just chasing after and snuffing things out at it’s chore.
That game we got pumped at Stamford Bridge, Gabriel was our best player. He was defending on the right and was all over Hazard, Hazard was doing nothing and then he drifted into the middle to get away from Gabriel, Gabriel had to hold his position on the right and Hazard takes the ball 50m and scores.
From that performance I thought Gabriel would be better as a defensive midfielder, just marking every no.10 in the league. Oh well good luck to him.
Let him go and keep give Chamber’s a go . He can play well on his day but is to erratic at times . Do you think he can be reinvented as a defensive midfielder, I have always thought he was better suited to that role the way he plays. Maybe but I don’t think so . Let Beilik and Chambers have his place in the cups and Europa League so we can get a look at them against proper opposition and we go from there . If it’s true Bye Bye Gabriel all the best mate .
No sure why you got the thumbs down for that comment. If we do let Gabriel go, I hope we give someone else other than Elneny or Monreal a chance. Perhaps Chambers or Bielik need a chance. If Chambers is not better as CD than Elneny, Wenger should ask himself why he ever bought Chambers for a big sum of money at the time whilst we were in desperate need back then for that money to be spent wisely on other needs.
I hope we start bringing through youngsters who are long term CDers instead of shifting seniors like Elneny out of position to fill in as an emergency stop gaps.
I have seen some headlines here lately that is really annoying! I understand the news papers just make things up from the blues so as to grab headlines. But to see us trending the same false news is not right at all. Gabriel isn’t going anywhere and I don’t think there is any form of substance to the story at all. Left for the media our whole squad is going to other clubs!
Except Peter Cech!
you might want to delete your comment .sky reporting that it might be confirmed later tonight
Yes, am really disappointed
Gabriel’s injured anyway so he is part of the injury equation. We are not selling a player who is in contention of a starting place.
Ten million for a player who isnt up to it is a good deal. It allows a space in the squad. 10 million would be better used in a deal for a better player in the same position where we might need to spend 30 or 40 million.
You have to get rid of the deadwood before you can buy improvements…
Wenger caused that problem for us on Friday night. He should have came out and said yes it was a mistake to use two fullbacks in central defence. The reason for three CB’s and two wing-backs is for defensive solidarity, the man makes me wonder though.
To be honest here, in how Bellerin won his place from Debuchy, I think it’d be only fair if Debuchy had got the same chance in trying to win it back. If he’s fit, he had every reason to think that Bellerin would be dropped for a few games to then see how someone with more experience might fare.
If it was up to me, Bellerin would’ve been dropped between some point from this season to towards the end of last season. Oxlade is who I’d give the place to. He has the power, positioning, better going forward and choosing when. Better at contesting high balls too. Passing out from the back he’d again be better, long and short. Defending, he looks better all round.
If Wenger had the backbone, a ruthless will to do his best. Oxlade would be our right wing-back, and Id like to see how he does at fullback at some stage too. He is slightly similar to Kolasinac out on the far side, both powerful players and quick, with a bite in the challenge. Of course one is more meatier, but both of them are naturally stocky men, whilst others would need the gym work, it’s not the same if you’re naturally slim and get there only by gym work. These two help beef up our team.
Debuchy is too old and too slow
Debuchy would thrive as the right sided centre back in a three. I would rather keep him than Gabriel. But for me Chambers would better than both there.
I even think Jenkinson could play in the back 3. The simple fact is 8 players have to go and there are about 18 in contention. Of that 18 there is probably only 3 that wenger really wants to keep, ozil, alexis and chamberlain. So it’s really who he can shift first? A number of the 18 are proving difficult to even give away, whilst a few are still injured.
Debuchy is too old now at 32 and also had an awful attitude a couple of years ago… let Chambers try an earn a spot… he and Holding potentially with Bielik could be the future CB’s and CDM !
Wenger has his problems, but am glad he is our manager and not YOU. Debuchy instaed of Bellerin???? really??? Go have a coffee son.
Wing-back, Bellerin cannot play it to a decent standard. And I said basically players should get the same fair shot. I think that’s a fair comment, but Oxlade changed the dynamic.
Well we can easily get defenders trust me if arsene is not allowed to dictate the deal look Evans from West Brom is supposed to be going to man city what’s that telling you, look around the premiership for those teams who caused us problems last season and we couldn’t score their defenders must be doing something right I despair arsenal recruiting policy, sevilla back four cost less than Gabriel think obout it people.
He has been poor. Probably makes room for Chambers in the squad.
Chambers should be sold, the guy lacks many things as a CB
Arsenal do not av any crisis wen it comes to our defence , we conceded goals on our first match due to absen and injury to our defenders ;moreover wenger used the available defenders out of their right positions.. Take a gud look @ our defence: we av monreal,kolasinaic, mustafi , koscienly,meterasacker,holdings ,bellerin, ox as a wing bak, Gibbs, jekinson.. I Think we have d best defence in the league if proper utilise
if arsenal are to sell Gabriel then should buy a back up who is more better than Gabriel, the likes of van vidjk
Gabriel will be sold and that will be the end of it. The squad is too big and space and money for additions must be made.
We sell him an still have jenko Gibbs an debuchy here …yeah right
We went to Villarreal with 10 mill .got gabs
Man u went Villarreal with 30…got Bailly
Just saying’
Yeah I don’t get it. Wenger knocked back an offer of over 10mil from West Brom for Gibbs, but is going to sell Gabriel who he uses more.
Gabriel apparently could barely speal English after 2 years here which is frankly not good enough… however that means he would only go to a Spanish or Brazilian club and hence £10mn is all we can get… Gibbs as English would command a lot more especially from a PL club… simples ¬
That should read ‘could barely speak English’.. ! hoist by my own petard!
Our only available CBs are Koscielny; Mert; Mustafi; Rob Holding; Chambers and possibly Paulista if he stays. I don’t consider Monreal or Kolasniac as makeshift CBs because they do not fit the profile and do not have the attributes to be one. If we have to play those two then expect plenty of goals scored against us this season, plus Kolasinac’s traits so far indicates he is best used as a wing back. Now let us assess and analyse the available CBs. Koscileny; Mert and Mustafi for me are the most experienced, senior and trusted center backs and and should start when fit, my only concern with Mert is that he is very slowly and far too many times he gets caught out for this. He is also not very nimble in the box and it is for these reasons, plus that he is retiring, I believe he should abdicate his position to someone talented and with a huge potential like Rob Holding, so that he can gain valuable experience. Rob Holding is someone I have huge faith in and I think with game time and proper coaching he can become the best in England. Now the dilemma is should we be playing Gabriel then instead of Rob Holding because for me Gabriel perhaps is ahead of Holding right now due to having more experience playing in that position, but I don’t really see Gabriel will ever nail down a place in that starting eleven. So giving the position to Holding would make more sense because he needs the game time for experience and also he is British which means he will be crucial for the homegrown quota. Another British homegrown player is Chambers. Chambers came to us at a hefty price for someone of his age and caliber. I do believe keeping him will still be useful in terms of competition between himself and Holding, both as British players and similarly competing for the national team, so for me w should keep Chambers as long as it viable to do so. Now with all six CBs being mentioned it might seem like we are sufficient in that position, yet the problem will arise soon when we lose Mert in retirement next year, Koscielnny getting sidelined as he’s more injure prone as well as hitting 32, and the rest besides Mustafi, not yet ready and have not proven themselves. If we sell Gabriel it could potential mean we will play with Mustafi; Holding and Chambers next year if both Mert and Koscielny are out. Having two young CBs at the same time could be a spell for disaster. The only way I can see us allowing Gabriel to go is we were to bring in another CB that is an upgrade to Gabriel and is replacement for either Mert or Koscielny, and one that is good enough to be fit right into the starting eleven. Therefore a potential line-p of CBs given that we retain the three at back formation would be: Mustafi; New CB and Holding. For me this is the only reason that makes sense to sell Gabriel. Personally if we can get an upgrade on Gabriel I would be very happy because he doesn’t cut it for me and he is not good enough to dispose any other player playing in other positions.
We currently have too many non home grown players and if we don’t ship one or two out, they will not be registered and might end up on loan somewhere or in the reserves.
This Gabriel one for me is an odd one. He is not in the top 2 of our CB’s but definitely a good squad CB. It’s difficult to compare players but I had a go with the Squawka tool which is quite subjective in that more game time paints a clearer picture. He had less game time last season than the one before that so using 2015-16 as his benchmark, only Kos surpasses him as Per despite more games/minutes wasn’t as assured. Although Per had a blinding 2014-15, I don’t think we’ll see that again.
There is also the issue of his style which is a lot similar to Koscielny’s- spot the danger and intercept the ball. The downside is without good communication, both players step forward at the same time. He should imo be Koscielny’s long term replacement.
Chambers kicked on last season and his Squawka stats reflect that so much so he was picked ahead of Holding for England U21s at the Euros. We may have seen glimpses of good play from Holding but he is still learning his trade and we should never allow a situation where Holding and Chambers start a PL game for us- remember Liverpool opening day fixture last season? Holding plays better next to a seasoned CB who can guide him on the pitch. I honestly believe a season on loan like Chambers had will improve him.
So keep Koscielny-Mustafi-Monreal as first 11 back 3 and Chambers-Mertesacker-Gabriel as Second 11. Loan out Holding for the season. Alternatively, keep him and loan Chambers. Either keep Gabriel.
We have 18 non homegrown players.
How old is Gabriel? He plays like an eighteen year old boy.he is not going to improve. Remember our two games against Bayern after the removal of the Boss, goals started flooding our post
Gabriel hasn’t looked too bad in a 3 CB setup. And he is an excellent RB cover for Bellerin.
I hope he stays.
Exactly how many games has Gabriel played in a back 3 for us?
How come all the supporters, pundits, jourlanists, other managers, ex players all are urging Wenger to buy a couple more top players. How is Wenger the only person to think Arsenal are strong enough. To me Wengers has some odd personality disorder where he pits himself against the world. The team does not have an earthly chance of challenging for the Premier League title. I do not understand why he may get rid of both Gabriel and Chambers. We will be left with a bare bones defense. Another injury and we would be ******. William Carvalho is still out there. Is Wenger going to let West Ham take a player who suits us perfectly? Wenger seems to say he loves Arsenal and. then sabotages us. He has been proved wrong for 10 years, will he suddenly be proved right?
His salary is too good to start thinking of club’s success
So which 8 players would you leave out of your 25? If you are thinking of buying just 2 players then you have to leave out 10. One of the players has to be non-homegrown, like wenger I would rather sell one of the squad players than simply give them away. Gabriel fits that category he is only a squad player. Quite simply there are better options who should be in the 25. Mustafi, koscielny Mertesacker Holding chambers are better whilst kolasinac and Monreal are also better. I think Debuchy is also a better cb option than Gabriel whilst jenkinson could also do a decent job if needed. Then bear in mind you Ave great under 21 talent like Bielik pleguezuelo and sheaf to bring through as well. The fact is some have to go and it should be from an area where we have an abundance of options.
It’s similar to the forward option. where we have too many to keep ozil toral alexis lacazette walcott welbeck giroud campbell akpom perez. Only 3 of those are going to start. How do you keep the other 7 happy whilst still bearing in mind you have great under 21 talent like iwobi nketiah Nelson Adelaide to bring through.
Campbell; Debuchy; Perez; Akpom; Jenkinson; Chambers (loan); Wilshere; Reine-Adelaide; Gibbs, there’s 9. Although you’re right about giving our youth a chance but we still will need replacements for Mert and Kosc sooner than later.
We are trying to win the league. Where is your head man????
We need a centre back that adds to the team, but he probably won’t buy one.
I would keep Gabriel since I think he is pretty good on the right of a back three. Wenger works in mysterious ways and seems to keep players (or fail to sell in an efficient manner) that contribute little (Wilshire, Debuchy, Gibbs, Jenkinson) and want to sell players that are somewhat efficient (Perez, Campbell, Gabriel).
Having said that if we need to off load players in order to bring in a Seri then if there is interest in Gabriel, sell him. We do have a big squad and there is little point in keeping players Wenger doesn’t rate (Perez, Campbell, Chambers, Gabriel) even if we as fans appreciate these players.
The one area which has to be seriously considered by Wenger is sending player on loan to EPL teams in position 15 to 20. Players like Gabriel, Elneny, Iwobi require a full season of games to be ready for starting eleven. We cannot offer them 38 games in a season for them to improve to a higher level. What Wenger is doing is sending players like Campell year after year on loan until their contract expires and they’ll leave free. Loan option is applied for wrong players which has to be corrected. If Wenger offered loan option for Chamberlain he would’ve been a fantastic player long ago. What happened is one year loan with other club has been stretched to 3 years bit part game time with us and now the boy is well equipped to be a regular starter and his contract is coming to an end. After all these years he’s been nurtured to be an excellent player and ready to play for our opponents. What a shame?
Still waiting to see who goes, i thought Valencia was buying Murillo from inter and not Gabs.
I think the thing about CBs, more so than forwards their performance in the games they play is dependent on who they are partnered with, that why Kos began improving when he was partnered with Mert, with confidence he now can be partnered with anyone, Gabs, Chambers, Holding, and Bielik need more game time with an Ideal CB (such as Mert) to grow. The Europa and Cup competitions are ideal opportunities.
Gabriel needs to go so we can give Holding and Belik more playing time to boost their experience and confidence.His time at the club has been average, his only got few decent performances for the club.He will also free up space for foreign players.
Mustafi is bang average as are chambers,mert and Gabriel . We need quality centre backs if we are to win the premier league. Holding and be lik are very promising and could become a great pairing in future but we need a quality centre back asap.
yes gabriel is a good squad player. but that is exactly what is crippling arsenal right now, our decade of financial constraints have lead us to having a lot of good players but not great. now we have to unload some in order to buy new players
in defence we have 12 players:
1st team players: Héctor Bellerín, Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi, Nacho Monreal, Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Sead Kolasinac
squad players:Gabriel Paulista, Calum Chambers, Kieran Gibbs
Liabilities/deadwood: Carl Jenkinson, Mathieu Debuchy
we have to sell liabilities and 1 of squad players before even buying a 1st team defenders.