Wenger: Gabriel Might Start Against Newcastle! by AT
As a result of a splendid performance against Bournemouth on Monday, it seems as though the Arsenal defender Gabriel has earned himself another start, with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger confirming that the Brazilian may well start his second consecutive Premier League game when Arsenal welcome Newcastle United to the Emirates.
On being asked whether Gabriel will start against the Magpies, Wenger said: “I don’t know yet. I rested one or two for the game because the players at the back have played many games but there is a possibility [of Gabriel starting again].
“We didn’t speak about him because Ozil took the whole press conference. I think he was dangerous from set-pieces and defended very well. He had good focus, was agile, quick and very strong in the challenge.”
Perhaps Wenger can keep Gabriel and bring Laurent Koscielny back to the side, thus giving Per Mertesacker a breather. Additionally, it will be really exciting to see Gabriel and Koscielny partner each other as the duo are considered by many as potentially Arsenal’s first-choice defensive pair for the near future.
Personally, I really like the idea of two quick, agile central defenders who are strong in the tackle and good with the ball at their feet. Considering that we’ve only seen the pair play together on rare occasions so far, it will be interesting to see how well they compliment each other at the back and work together given that they are two players with very similar playing styles.
So with that being said, I would really like to see Koscielny partnering Gabriel in central defence when Steve McClaren brings his Newcastle team to the Emirates. In my opinion, they can certainly build a formidable partnership in the heart of the Arsenal defence.