Gabriel and Saliba at it again!
Arsenal faced off against Liverpool on Saturday night and walked away with a point shared, going into the Christmas period top of the table and after a very hard-fought point. We can walk away proud of this year’s performances so far. Gabriel and Saliba have been a huge part of the success over the recent months and again came good for Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal side in what was a must-not-lose game.
Gabriel himself was immense, getting Arsenal on the scoresheet and in the lead in the first 4 minutes of the game, after a great cross into the box from a set-piece freekick from Martin Odegaard was whipped onto the head of Gabriel who managed to leap higher than the Liverpool players, getting his head onto the ball and firing it into the net past Allison to put Arsenal in front, scoring his first goal this season and putting Arsenal in the driving seat.
Both Saliba and Gabriel saved our butts a lot throughout the game and without their strong partnership, I don’t think we would walk away with any points. In the first half they both managed to keep a few chances out and were unlucky to go behind with a stunning goal from Salah, that nobody was stopping, but both Gabriel and Saliba were at no fault for the goal.
The game really was a game of two halves and where Arsenal looked dominant in the first half, Liverpool came out in the second and were raring to go. Creating plenty of chances that our defensive duo managed to read well.
In the 70th minute Gabriel again saved us after a shot from just subbed on Harvey Elliot was stopped by Gabriel’s chest and put out of play, to keep the score level and keep Arsenal in the game. A shot that was definitely going in without his intervention. He looked unbeatable and was constantly helping to get back and recover the ball when needed. Gabriel himself walking away with man of the match and looked to be the best player on the pitch throughout the night for both teams.
I’ve been so impressed by this partnership this season and even the whole backline. Teams win titles with defences like ours and I think that without them, we wouldn’t be doing as well as we have. Saliba probably didn’t have as great as a game that Gabriel did but kept solid at the back and kept the pressure on the Liverpool attack when they were pressing forward.
A hard game to win and even a hard game to walk away with a point, so all in all, I think we’ll take that and try to run with it. Sitting top of the table and keeping our sights on West Ham at The Emirates this week. A great way to end the Christmas period and hopefully walk away winners against West Ham and Fulham to top our year off.
What’s your thoughts Gooners?
Daisy Mae
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We did NOT “go behind” and “Gabriel was NOT the MotM”. Apart from those two errors of fact, the article was accurate.
Arteta made a mistake at the left back option against Liverpool. Also Gabriel Should have doubled up against Salah, the same way opposition teams double up on Saka. Saliba is the main defender and more consistent in his positional play than Gabriel.
Daveg*
Just recognize and give the duo accolades that are due to them.
Mteeeew
Who should he put at LB then?
Lucky, if Sally stop saying things that enourage conspiracy theories at Anfield. Please, Sally, let your exelent qualities on the pitch talk for you. As a player, you’re a treasure. And as a partner Gabriel
Dos Santos is almost perfect. Arsenal is a lucky club.
Which luck? We’re not lucky to have them. We paid lots of money for them and are paying more to keep them. No luck there
It is luck in the sense that we signed them albeit with low transfer fees and they turned out a solid pair rather than flops, meanwhile contributing to the clubs’ earnings with their performance hence the ability to afford keeping them. Try get a grip on what’s said.
Very lucky, although Magalhaes should’ve been able to block Salah’s shot with Zinchenko
I was also impressed with all Liverpool defenders, who dominated our attackers physically and played with the ball seamlessly despite their towering statures
No it seems Magalhaes couldn’t believe Zinchenko allowed Salah to cut back on to his left, that’s what most defenders would do shows him the by line.
So the Brazilian may have been anticipating him coming from the byline.
Zinchenko alone couldn’t stop Salah from cutting inside in our penalty box, because tackling, making body contact or trying to steal the ball from Salah would be very risky
Blocking Salah’s shot was a safer choice, but it requires two people to increase the blocking success rate
Gai, the intention is not to stop Salah coming into the box, what Zinchenko needed to do is leaving free space to the right that would invite Salah to choose that path, we have seen it done several times over in the league, not only would the angle be narrowed but Magalhaes would get a peice of the action.
The problem is, I assume Zinchenko wasn’t aware where Magalhaes was, but most defensive minded players would have force Salah to the bylines.
Hai, Watch the highlights again, tough decision for Gabriel who was trying to prevent an opening in the Center of Arsenal backline. Saliba the Center back there and 2 Liverpool attackers surging forward hoping Salah would cross the ball.
#Gai
I watched the replay and it had nothing to do with Saliba
GAI,, It’s obvious you aren’t defensive minded. Zinchenko committed a basic defensive error.
Probably our best central defensive partnership since Campbell & Toure.
Very lucky. Although Gabriel has a brain fart in him.