Earlier in the season, our big signing Gabriel Magalhaes made a very big impression on the Arsenal fans and is hotly tipped to be the mainstay of our defence for years to come. But since his absence due to Covid-19 protocols, Pablo Mari has stepped in beside Rob Holding and they have been awesome in our last 4 wins.
Mikel Arteta made a point of praising Mari at the weekend, as he told the media: “We had to throw him in because we had some injuries and suspensions, it probably wasn’t really fair for him because he’s missed a lot of football in the last year,”
“But he’s a leader, he’s someone that trains really hard, he’s a professional, a great communicator on the pitch and he gives you some security and stability.”
“I think he’s done really well with Rob [Holding], he was really good again today with David [Luiz], three clean sheets in a row and he fully deserves the chance to play.
“[He was] really positive when he wasn’t playing, when he was injured and when he is playing, he is the same person all the time, trying to help everybody, really professional, really eager to improve to give his best all the time in any capacity and any role and I think he is getting rewarded by his attitude.”
But now the boss has got a dilemma of choosing two of Gabriel, Mari and Holding, and of course he has great respect for David Luiz as well, but when he plays his favoured 4-2-4, and I’m sure he will be very aware of these awesome stats with Mari on the pitch….
I am sure Holding and Gabriel also have some good stats too, but I think Mari should surely be first choice now, don’t you?
Maybe Arteta could have one pairing for League games and the other one for the Cups!