Gabriel Paulista is wanted by La liga side Valencia, but would Arsenal be willing to part ways? The Brazilian defender joined the club from Villarreal in January 2015, but has failed to have the desired impact on the first-team squad.
Gabriel has picked up only 37 Premier League starts since making the switch, with many of those coming down to injuries from players ahead of him in the pecking order. The defender did start to impress in our new 3-4-2-1 formation last term, but we still have a number of players who appear ahead of him.
We currently have the likes of Laurent Koscielny, Rob Holding, Shkodran Mustafi, captain Per Mertesacker, Calum Chambers, Mohamed Elneny and Nacho Monreal all able to play in the three centre-back roles in the side, and it is tough to figure out just where he fits into that pecking order.
Valencia are now claiming that they are interested in adding him to their own defence, and believe a deal is a realistic option. Their Marcelino has confirmed his interest in in the defensive trio of Jeison Murillo, Gabriel Paulista and Ivan Marcano and believe that they are valid targets.
“I think they’re possible,” their Coach Marcelino said.
“We’re talking about important players who already know our League. They speak Spanish, and that’s important, so their adaptation would be very quick.”
Los Che are currently on the lookout for a centre-half with Manchester City’s Elaquim Mangala having returned to the Etihad following his loan spell, and they are keen to add one of defensive trio Jeison Murillo, Gabriel Paulista and Ivan Marcano to their options.
How far from the first XI is Gabriel? Does our new system suit his playing style? Should we cut our losses with him?
Pat J
Assuming we play 3 defender the whole season that mean our best 3 (for the moment) is Kolasinac, Mustafi, Koscielny with Per, Gabriel, Holding as back up. I think Kolasinac will eventually play LB once Gibbs are sold. leaving us with only 5 defenders, selling Gabriel would only force us to reenter the market,Per is retiring end of season and looks to be backup role this season, leaving us with only 4 central defenders. Finding a good reliable CB is not easy especially at the current inflated market.
I think Kolasinac should play wingback so he can use his size, pace and skill to go forward and Monreal can play behind him as CD if need be. To play him as CD takes too much of his benefit away IMO.
Where did Monreal go…
I am for Chambers to stay and sell Gabriel. English players will be high priced to replace
Spot ON – Unless we get a quality replacement “NO” (purely from a numbers perspective)- it’s too late in the window.
I like Gabriel. He is not the greatest defender though. Too often I’ve watched him either make mistakes or get beat by average players. That said, when he is “in form” and playing well, he is an excellent defender who reads the game well and can be tough to beat. But, at this point, with all the players we are carrying, it is a good time to thin the heard and Gabriel is a good option to do so. Let’s get whatever we can for him and use it immediately to sign Lemar already. If we get 10 mil for Gabriel (and I am not saying that is what he is worth), we should immediately up the Lemar offer by 10.
He is useful but quite average
We have
Koscielny,
Mustafi,
Mertsacker
Kolsanic
Holding
Chambers
Monreal
Wenger has played Eleny as CB too
Selling Gabriel may be helpful to free up wages as well
We also need to decide on the future of
Wilshere
Debuchy
Jenkinson
Gibbs
Lucas
Welbeck (if £30 million rumors are true)
Akpom
And of course need to sign a couple more players
What is telling to me is that no one has jumped in for Walcott … Even if lemar doesn’t come Walcott is unlikely to start and he claims to want that to revive his international career … He should b offered at to anyone for 10m or less to offload his absurd wage bill
Sell him! He is pretty much Johan Djorou 2.0
gabriel had just began to fulfil the potential defence quality and bring assurance to the position before he got injured. he’s by no means a problem enough to warrant being sold – not before others.
*as soon as player suffers injury big clubs do not go looking to sell (think sturridge) for if they did then a word would circulate about what the club does and decent players would no longer wish to come.
if a selection of our fans where allowed to manage these crop of players the gems wud be sold and the faff would remain and fans wud be reduced back to infighting as the club sank to *championship-level.
SELL HIM QUICKLY
Honestly, it’s a compliment if your players are sought after, not a reason to sell when they aren’t stars, Arsenal recently have been getting it very right when buying defenders, which means we probably haven’t seen the best of Gabby yet and He was approaching good form before he got injured.
Then there’s the 3 at the back, I will not include Elneny, Monreal or Kolasinac as viable options, as we have a LB/LWB situation that’s going to hit us very soon, not too mention the midfield issues.
Merts (Retiring), Boss (perma injured), Mustafi (prime approaching), Gabriel (prime), Chambers (rookie), Holding (rookie), we have six defenders covering 3 positions, which is just about right, but then if you look closely should we be selling the one in his prime years?
Think Gabriel’s problem might be language based but no I don’t think we should sell him, he certainly does not lack the talent, he is just a bit fiery and rash, but so was the boss at one point in time.
The role of the fans at this juncture it our club’s history appears lost of most individuals who frequent this site following a victory…I’ll explain further, but first I must state that I have cared for this club dearly for the better part of 35 years, so my critique is both measured and carefully considered…there is certainly nothing wrong with celebrating a victory, regardless of the circumstances, but making wild predictions or fawning over players after a lacklustre win solves very little, if anything it enables those in charge to continue down the road too frequently traveled
Minus some flashes from both Sead and Iwobi, and a workingman-like effort from Elneny, we learned very little…so here are a few of my observations from today’s game, which highlight my concerns about this team moving forward…the fact that Mertz started this game, regardless of our injuries or those being “rested”, should be a serious red flag for any true Arsenal fan…if Wenger is preparing to use Mertz with any regularity then the whole thing is a moot point because we are in deep shit…the fact is no quality team would ever have this tin soldier anywhere near there starting eleven except to groom their youthful players, who in turn should be playing in this type of game instead…I can only hope he was simply throwing him a bone for the FA appearance and for agreeing to stay on following the season, but I think the most likely answer is that Wenger’s fragile relationship with the fan-base can’t be ignored so he felt his experience was a safer bet…unfortunately not a positive choice for a team trying to move forward(same old, same old)
Placing Ox on the left side…another classic Wenger positional switcheroo…for the love of god can anyone tell me one positive that has come as a result of Wenger playing guys out of position in the last 6 or 7 years…I’ll tell you, Cazorla playing a little deeper than he previously had and Ox last year as the right-side wing-back…he can’t pass properly on the left and he is far more ineffective driving to the end line…the manager needs to make the tough decisions, either you play Bellerin or Ox on the right and the other becomes the back-up, get rid of one of the two or get rid of both of them and buy a top-class player who would be an everyday starter then develop a younger player behind him…no wonder he wants to leave…square peg into a round hole(same old, same old)
Keeping Giroud on this squad with the promise of substantial playing time…the offensive tactics of this squad is way too indirect and is much more reflective of a hold up play/cross in the box scheme that suits Giroud’s skill-sets but can’t continue if Wenger really wants Lacazette to be successful…without Sanchez on the pitch this offence is a little bit like a headless chicken, passing sideways, providing relatively poor service to undersized players and sub-par finishing…this isn’t to suggest that Arsenal can’t perform without Alexis but this offensive scheme is antiquated and ill-advised, especially considering our personnel(poor man’s Barca)…if Arsenal doesn’t want to pay the price to get topnotch players so we can press high and play all out attack, we would be better served by adopting a counterattack approach…unfortunately that would mean developing a far less skittish defensive group that could withstand the pressure and we all know that Wenger hasn’t opted for that approach considering our defensive pickups in recent years and the lack of a “boss” in the midfield
Playing Welbeck and Walcott for any considerable amount of time this season is definitely an ominous sign of things to come…stop wasting time, energy and money on players that will never come through on a consistent basis…whether due to injuries, inconsistencies and/or an utter lack of first-touch and finishing skills, these two need to ply their trades elsewhere…don’t get me wrong, I love Welbeck’s work-rate and I’ve enjoyed Walcott’s pacy play over the years, but they are simply an unwanted reminder of the half measure/settling tendencies that have plagued this club for years…cut the cord(same old, same old)
Of course there are several other common concerns, like Monreal playing against any top competition, since he proved last year, especially against Bayern, that he will give any class player his dominant foot in and around the box time and time again, or that we still haven’t found anyone, other than the mopey Ozil, that can distribute the ball from deeper lying positions, minus the occasional gem from Xhaka, which means that we still spend way too much time trying to pass the ball into the net, but I’ll save that for another time
all of which bring me to the role of the fans at this critical juncture in our team’s history, which is to look at the facts with a rational eye, make sure that the fat cats take responsibility for their decisions and to speak out when the club is failing to pursue only the highest goals, especially when you’re one of the riches clubs in the world…so enjoy the victory, but temper those celebrations with the knowledge that one victory doesn’t make a season and that to win this marathon you need the prepare accordingly with the proper players, tactics and determined play…so the next two weeks are absolutely crucial if we intend to be contenders and not pretenders
Well written and I actually read all of it. Agree with most points particularly with the Ox not being deployed on the right. He is a far better wing-back than Bellerin.
Your point about Giroud is also well made. It is time to play to Laca’s strengths and start playing a more pacy game including working on counter attacking style.
I was happy to win the shield but we played to a draw and penalties are always a bit of a lottery. And we only scored after they were reduced to 10 men. That won’t happen every time we play a big team.
spot on … sadly wasted on too many “fans” on this site
Wow , an Arsenal fan who has the same realistic view as I have . I agree 100% with all of your points . It’s time Arsenal and Wenger stepped up their game and sorted out their personnel issues once and for all
“can anyone tell me one positive that has come as a result of Wenger playing guys out of position in the last 6 or 7 years…I’ll tell you, Cazorla playing a little deeper than he previously had and Ox last year as the right-side wing-back…”
Why only last 6 or 7 years? Why not Wengers whole time with AFC?
You said Cazorla as one, Ox as another, shall we have a look at more of the current squad that has been converted? Forget the 6-7 years and look at the players we have? Or do you want to cherry pick figures that support you and ignore the ones that go against it?
Bellerin came as a winger, Wenger moved him to RB.
Theo came to us as a CF, he is a better winger and ppl can QQ about him but he scores.
Alexis came to us as a right sided Attacker, he has played the left side and CF.
Monreal can cover CB when bought as a LB.
Plus the 2 that you already said and that is 6 out of a starting 11 that has been shifted.
I could look at a longer time period and point to Kolo Toure being moved to CB and form the partnership with Sol that helped us go unbeaten, Cesc who joined us as a DM, Cashley who was an attacker and we all know about how Wenger was the one who put TH14 on the left at Monaco and when we bought him from Juve as a left winger and converted back to a CF by Wenger at Arsenal.
Not all of them do work, Ramsey is a prime example, you have to recognise both sides otherwise it is unfair. Wenger is the type of manager that educates his players rather than drill them, any true Arsenal supporter knows this and as such they know that players with intelligence benefits from this style of development.
No true AFC fan would liken Vieira to a woman. We need to be careful, this lad could be genuine but rival fans are gonna troll the crap out of Arsenal because they seen last seasons infighting and what not.
maybe you should look at the facts a little closer before unleashing your own personal verbal diarrhea…Bellerin has regressed in his role as a RB largely because he hasn’t been coached up properly or faced the necessary competition for his starting position, until the formation change…Theo would never be played as a CF on any team hoping to compete at the highest levels, so any idiot could have seen that someone with his straight line speed and lack of physicality on the pitch would need to be utilized out wide where defenders play higher and are usually smaller in stature…Kolo had a couple good years but most would have under the tutelage of Sol, not to mention that his size and average speed were far more conducive to the CB role than any other(if only Wenger had focused on Yaya more than Kolo our recent history might have looked vastly different)…Cesc was coveted for his exceptional vision and passing acumen so playing him where he did was obvious to most and not some sort of ingenious plan only Wenger could have envisioned…finally, the Sanchez argument, the only reasons why he played on the right was not Wenger’s idea, try watching Sanchez when he plays with Chile, he plays on the left side with a lot of liberty to move more centrally as he sees fit so that he can find his shot more often…Barca didn’t want Sanchez holding onto the ball for so long because their offence wasn’t based on his ability to score from distance, unlike when he came to Arsenal and we were desperately looking for someone to add some much-needed scoring punch…remember I didn’t come up with the idea that Wenger plays guys out of position far too often, this fact was spoken by and written about by almost every pundit or commentator who ever watch and/or covered an Arsenal game in the last 7 years…let’s face it, Wenger loved being called a genius for the supposed Henry “conversion” but let’s remember that team included players the likes of Viera, Bergkamp, Pires, Petit, Adams, Sol, Keown plus many other world class players…maybe you should think carefully before you cherry-pick examples to support your weak argument
I would keep him. No brainer. Is he great? No? Does he fit better in a back three on the right than in a back 4? Absolutely.
Is Gabriel capable to be a good reliable defender. I would say yes but he’s not ready for week in week out performance. So send him on loan to a club which is on the lower side which will offer him more play time. I strongly feel a full season of games what Callum had like last year is what Gabriel only needed so he’ll be ready by next year so Per can retire peacefully. Mustafi, Callum, Holding & Gabriel fighting for the first team.
Sell Gabs and give the game time to Chambers is what I would do, Chambers deserves more game time and he done well at Boro, he and Holding can be England future CBs.
Kos, Mustafi, Per, Holding and Chambers is 5 CB then we have Monreal and Seo who can cover CB as well making it 7 without Gab, we do not need 8 players for CB!
IMO 5 dedicated CB is ideal, 2 backups for the 3 CBs and we do want to try and build a regular back line for consistency…
a very good back up.keep him
and I like his passion.he seem to be passionate about Arsenal.
We need VanDijk or Koulibaly… let Chambers(insert buyback) n Gabriel go