‘Similar to Kalidou Koulibaly’: Arsenal sign central Gabriel and could be a big blow

Defending is an art form and in the Premier League only the best will do, hence the fight for the brightest talents in Europe.

Dayot Upamecano has been making the main headlines, but Lille ace Gabriel was another wanted player by various teams, including Everton and Chelsea.

However, it is Arsenal who have made the deal. But what can you bring to the side of Mikel Arteta? talkSPORT.com heard about Total soccer analysis…

Getty Images – Getty

With the tactical evolution of the modern game, the role of the central defender is changing markedly.

Gone are the days when these players performed a purely functional role and are now expected to be able to progress on the ball and create opportunities for teammates in advanced areas.

This change in the role of the central defender has changed the market for hiring players to play in these positions.

Now, we are seeing young defenders coming into the ranks who are capable of defending well but can also advance the ball through the thirds when they have possession.

Getty Images – Getty

As this position has changed, so has the overall structure that teams adopt when in possession.

It is now fashionable for teams to maintain a high defensive line with central defenders stepping up when their team is in possession of the ball.

This has also increased the need for defenders to feel comfortable both physically and technically when turning and defending in space towards their own goal.

There has been much speculation in recent weeks that a defender who met these criteria was on the radar of Premier League clubs.

That defender is Garbiel Magalhaes who has already signed for Arsenal.

Gabriel, as he prefers to be known, moved to Lille in 2017 after having made his professional debut in his native Brazil with Avai.

His transition from South America to Europe was managed carefully as he had to get used to not just the style of football but the general culture of a new country.

Gabriel initially played for the second team in Lille before spending time on loan at Troyes and then at Dinamo Zagreb before establishing himself firmly in the Lille first team.

The purpose of this scouting report is to provide an idea of ​​the type of player Gabriel is and to see why Arsenal have chosen to sign the player.

Data verification

Wyscout

One of the strengths of Gabriel’s game is his ability to advance the ball through the third of the field.

Up we have taken all the central defenders in the top 5 European leagues who are under 24 years old and have played at least 1,000 minutes.

As with any other form of data analytics recruiting, we have to take into account the style of play in which the players we are interested in are playing.

Lille is a team that attacks quickly through vertical passing movements that carry the ball through the thirds. They are not geared towards possession and as such central defenders don’t spend a lot of time cycling for possession and moving the ball laterally.

In fact, the role that Gabriel plays when in possession is to move the ball forward and look for the runs of the attackers in the last third.

The table above keeps track of the number of passes each player has played to the final third and compares it to the number of progressive passes they have made.

You can see that the atypical clear is French central defender Dayot Upamecano, who has also been strongly linked to a great transfer, but right behind him comes Gabriel. He is averaging 10.12 goes to the final third by 90 and 11.46 Progressive passes by 90.

Wyscout

This time we are going to see how effective they are in the defensive phase. Gabriel is just averaging 5.22 defensive duels and 5.26 aerial duels by 90 respectively. It is very effective in these matches with a success rate of 64.34% and 69.23% respectively.

Ball progression

As mentioned above, in soccer a great emphasis is being placed on central defenders who are capable of moving the ball forward.

Players who can receive the ball in central areas before breaking the opponent’s defensive blocking lines through vertical or diagonal passes are becoming extremely valuable.

This is a skill that Gabriel has in abundance.

Wyscout

With Lille, we see a series of game patterns repeating over and over again with player rotations designed to create and exploit space in the last third.

We see an example of these rotations in the picture above when the attacker on the left side, Lille tends to play 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, leaves the left touchline and enters half. space.

This move is designed to create room for the left back to move into the finishing space and make a late run that can penetrate behind the defensive line.

Gabriel is usually accompanied by former Southampton defender José Fonte and the experienced Portuguese defender does not advance the ball well.

The responsibility for this therefore rests with Gabriel and the above pattern is a regular feature with the ball being played to the Brazilian defender as the rotation takes place. The ball can be played accurately and with the correct weight to find the left side’s open run in space.

Wyscout

A similar situation here, although Gabriel is deeper and under more sustained pressure from the Nantes striker.

When the Brazilian defender drifts out to look for a passing angle we again see the attacker on the left side moving in and towards the ball, once again this rotation is designed to create a space in which teammates can attack. .

In this case, it is the striker who takes advantage of this space while doing a curved run to move behind the opposite right side.

Once again the rotation is spot on thanks to the precision and range of passes we see from Gabriel as he makes a perfectly weighted pass to the striker’s feet in his career.

Getty Images – Getty

Defensive phase

Of course, it is not enough for a defender to progress with the ball, he also has to be able to defend effectively.

With full backs being used more frequently as attack outs and teams no longer playing a number 6 which is used exclusively in a defensive role. Therefore, it is key that the centrals are able to defend when they are isolated and in space.

While José Fonte struggles in this area of ​​the game, Gabriel is extremely mobile. It covers space very well and is agile enough to defend itself effectively against forward players looking to turn quickly and attack on the inside or outside of defensive players.

Wyscout

We see an example of this here when Gabriel has been dragged into wide areas following the run of the forward who has moved to receive the ball in space. One of the opposition players seeks to quickly take advantage of this situation with a run under Gabriel to access the penalty area.

It would be easy for him to back off to cover the run, but instead, he’s agile enough to use his body to block the potential pass lane to access that player. When the man in possession looks to re-enter the space behind the runner, Gabriel re-read the intention and is in position to recover the ball and begin an attacking move for his team.

Wyscout

We see a similar situation above, as Gabriel has swerved to defend against the Amiens attacker who has received the ball in a wide area.

The Brazilian defender has good balance and positions his body to cut the path towards the goal and at the same time can defend in case the attacker falls on the outside or inside.

As the attacker feigns outward and then quickly backs up to the center, we again see Gabriel calmly regain possession of the ball before moving forward to begin the attack.

Wyscout

Gabriel is also very good at reading the game. He tends to average a high number of interceptions per game, as he prevents the opposition from penetrating the penalty area early.

We see an example of this above, since a space has been opened between Gabriel and the left side.

An opposing striker will seek to move from Gabriel’s blind side to quickly attack this space and receive the ball.

Although the movement is initially out of the Brazilian defender’s field of vision, he is still aware that the space presents danger and, while the forward makes a movement to receive the ball, Gabriel has followed the run and intercepts comfortably before advancing onto the field. contrary. .

Getty Images – Getty

conclusion

When Everton was one of the clubs most closely linked to Gabriel’s play, the Brazilian seemed to be a perfect fit for Carlo Ancelotti.

In fact, the Italian coach moved to Everton Napoli and there are clear similarities in playing style and effectiveness between Gabrial and Senegalese central defender Kalidou Koulibally.

The move to the Premier League was inevitable and now it has come true with Arsenal.

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