Gabriel Magalhaes has arguably been a rock in Arsenal’s defence this season, taking on large amounts of responsibility not only at the back but front too.
The 26-year old Brazilian has come into light this season more so than ever, creeping up with crucial goals just like former Arsenal defender and legend Tony Adams.
Adams was a pivotal player in Arsene Wenger’s early squad which saw the Frenchman claim three Premier League titles in the space of six seasons, from 1998-2004.
Adam’s rounded off Everton at Highbury in a 4-0 victory witnessing Wenger earn his first trophy in charge at North London, as well as The Gunners first ever Premier League title in May 1998.
He caught the Merseysider’s defence napping catching an impressive through ball in the air before bringing it down and carelessly smashing his effort into the bottom left corner of goal.
Despite Gabriel not helping Arsenal as of yet seal a Premier League trophy since arriving at The Emirates in 2020, he has certainly popped up when needed this season allowing us to grab much needed points and victory.
Last month Gabriel ensured we won four points out of six Premier League points versus Spurs and Manchester City in a match we simply couldn’t afford to lose.
To start off with he scored Arsenal’s only goal against Tottenham helping us win 1-0 away from home, with a towering header forcing our arch rival’s defence to fully capitulate.
A week later he was on fire again at the Etihad which we’ve only won at once in the past decade. After Arsenal went a goal down to The Citizens, following Riccardo Calafiori’s equaliser, Gabriel scored another impressive forceful header from a corner, handing The Gunners a welcome advantage before a 2-2 draw in the last second denied victory.
If you look at the stats Gabriel has netted 14 times in the past four seasons, nearly all in the Premier League, which is better than the number of times Adams scored (12) in 255 Premiership matches across over double that time (nine years).
It’s still early days in Gabriel’s career but who’s to say he won’t reach the prestigious reputation of Adams, if not greater?
Liam Harding
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Better than Tony Adams? Someone’s been on the hard stuff, as good as Gabriel is he doesn’t come close to the legend that is Tony Adams. The scoring of goals does win games but stopping the opposition scoring is more important for a defender. Having said that, Adams’ famous celebration after scoring that 4th goal against Everton with a piledriver into the net from 20 yards is depicted in his statue outside the Emirates.
He won’t
Cue someone saying ….it’s not impossible
Mr Arsenal, Tony Adams, scored over 30 League goals for The Arsenal, so Gabriel has got quite a way to go before even equaling TA6’s goals scored.
Big Gabs has become an enormous player for us, since he has channeled his emotional blips he has become a major force. TA was a legend, Gabs could become a legend in his own right, but he is not there yet.
Captain fantastic was a legend for us and will way be regarded imo as a player you would want in the trenches with you when the going got tough.
A great leader of men on the pitch not so sure off the field b4 he turned tea total.
Different era, different rules so some off the tackles he made would allow him to stay on the pitch for 90 minutes
Ps
Loved it when he was miked up and called the ref a cheat
Onwards and upwards
AlanBall08, Millwall away. I forget the refs name, but iirc, he was Head Teacher at some posh school.
There is only ONE Tony Adams!!!!!!!
Tony Adams a legend.
Gabriel on his way to becoming one, if he stays and carries on playing as he is at the moment.
Same goes for Saliba… who some are claiming is already a legend.
One thing I admire about you Ken is your objectivity. You have actually expressed it almost the same way I would. Adams is a legend but that doesn’t mean Gabriel can’t become one. I don’t believe in comparing Individuals who lived in different periods because the circumstances are different. However, that does not mean Individuals in different times can’t share some traits. Of course no Individual is a duplicate copy of another. Adams was great in his time but that doesn’t mean there can’t emerge another great individual like him. I get surprised when some Individuals just dismiss the idea that Gabriel can be as great as Adams! Does that mean Adams was invincible? Of course not. There is a possibility that someone will surpass Adams record. That is why old records are broken and new ones set.
Just because someone is regarded as a legend does not mean they are infallible or has to unrivalled for eternity.
Again, on an individual / talent level we can compare them. The only category that is out of their hands is team glory / team trophy department. Tony Adams won more as a player due to all sorts of factors. Different times and team.
But on a individual talent level we can compare them.
On the other hand the “Legend level” Tony Adams is Arsenal through and through. Don’t know about Gabriel on that front. May be if he stayed and helped the team win titles and CL’s then the legend tag could be applied to him then. That’s my opinion anyway..
The guy is in beast mode
Outstanding player
With the goals he scores and his infectious enthusiasm for defending, if he helps bring us a title, Gabriel will absolutely secure a legacy for himself at the club – Tony Adams is another level, though. He *only* played for arsenal and was looked up to by everyone. He was clearly seen as *the* leader at the club, was always acknowledged as the best player of that incredible defense and was club captain for well over a decade. I really like Gabriel, but I don’t think it’s even fair to consider that comparison.
The point that many people are missing is the fact that nobody says Gabriel has reached Adams’ level yet. However, what most contributors point out is the fact that if he continues at this level he can easily become a legend like Tony Adams. Is anything wrong with that?