Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes is currently thriving under Mikel Arteta as part of arguably the best defence in Europe, but this was not always the case for him.
The Brazilian was one of Arteta’s first signings as a manager, joining from Lille in 2020, and initially took some time to settle. Whilst he showed a strong raw ability, he had rash and erratic moments in his first season, which saw Arsenal finish in eighth place.
Many believe that the centre-back does not get the credit he deserves, with William Saliba taking the plaudits in Sunday’s draw with Manchester City.
Gabriel is now one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League, and it has now been pointed out that his struggles in his earlier days may simply have been a result of his company in the back line.
Gabriel initial struggles at Arsenal were a result of poor partners
Speaking on The Arsenal Beat Podcast, journalist Jordan Davies highlighted how Gabriel’s initial few years at the club saw him forced to cover for inadequate defensive partners.
“He’s been part of Mikel Arteta’s project right from the start, and I think that’s what’s almost held him back a bit, because he’s had to come in and play with lots of different centre-back partnerships, who weren’t really up to his level, and they almost made him look worse,” he stated.
“Then he would then end up making mistakes because he’d been asked to do too much or he’s having to run out and pass out, and there’s a player there that isn’t quite ready, so he was almost too good for that team when he was coming through in the early years of Arteta, and he’s just been waiting for this centre back partner.”
Gabriel’s defensive partners early on at Arsenal
Gabriel’s arrival saw him line up alongside one of David Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi or Rob Holding in the back line, whilst rotating with Pablo Mari.
Unai Emery had signed Luiz, as well as Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who had been frozen out of the squad by the time Gabriel joined.
Arteta continually rotated his options at centre-back, and Gabriel could not gain any consistency, whilst the likes of Holding and Mustafi made a lot of errors.
Gabriel found himself behind Mari in the pecking order towards the end of his first campaign, but the following season saw Ben White join, with the underperformers all leaving, and Gabriel came into his own before Saliba then arrived to help raise his level.