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Editor’s Note: Tor-Kristian Karlsen is a Norwegian soccer executive and scout and is the former executive director and sporting director of AS Monaco. He will write regularly for ESPN about the soccer business and the exploration process. In his last column, look at Gabriel, the Lille defender who has completed a move for Arsenal.
On Tuesday, Arsenal confirmed the signing of Brazilian center-back Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille for around € 30 million over a five-year contract. The tall, imposing and left-back was also on the wish list of Manchester United, Napoli and Everton, among others, but the combination of fellow Brazilian Edu, Arsenal’s sporting director, and coach Mikel Arteta convinced the promising youngster that his immediate future is in North London.
Gabriel’s career has not been the most traditional, especially for a defender – he joined a top Ligue 1 team at just 19 years after a single season in the Brazilian second league, and is now heading to the Premier League afterwards. barely a year as an established. first team in France. But he impressed enough in his debut campaign with Avai, in Brazil’s Serie B, to win games with Brazil in the South American U-20 championship, where he performed well. Subsequently, it was bought by Lille in January 2017 for an estimated € 3 million.
With the exception of a single nine-minute substitute appearance in Ligue 1, he spent his first half of the season at the French club primarily with the second team. In the summer of 2017 he was loaned to Ligue 1 rival Troyes, but when he only started one league game, Lille saw little gain from keeping him on loan at a club that did not play him. In January 2018, he was sent to Dinamo Zagreb, but again the young defender managed only one first-team appearance for the Croatian side before returning to northern France at the end of the 2018-19 season.
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The two disappointing loan spells didn’t seem to do Gabriel too much damage. During the second half of the 2018-19 season, the Brazilian finally claimed a regular spot as one of two Lille center-backs that ultimately led the club to second place in Ligue 1 and best defensive record (only 33 goals conceded). . Then in the following season, the one that ended abruptly due to COVID-19, Gabriel kept his usual place in the heart of the Lille defense, most commonly alongside former Crystal Palace, Southampton and West Ham defender José Fonte.
Although Gabriel’s French was improving rapidly, playing alongside the experienced Portuguese captain, with whom he shares a mother tongue, must have been of great help to the relatively inexperienced Brazilian. He also benefited from having a coach, Christophe Galtier, who likes to keep the defense line orderly, structured and disciplined.
While Gabriel was prone to making mistakes in his early Lille games, such as losing possession in his own half and giving away fouls due to excessive physical play, he has developed monthly to the point where it is now difficult to identify any obvious ones. flaws in his game. Perhaps you can find more elegant central defenders, “ballplayers” or those with a weaker and more useful foot, but that doesn’t hurt Gabriel in particular.
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On the contrary, Gabriel is developing into a fairly well-rounded central defender and, judging from his last 25-30 appearances for Lille, he should be able to adapt well to the Premier League. In addition to his aerial dominance and pace, he generally keeps up with most of the fast-paced forwards in France, of which there are many with a lot of pace! He is also a focused defender who has a clear idea of how to win the ball when he enters a duel, either by anticipating the opponent’s next move, getting him off the ball, or through an old-fashioned tackle. He also scores high on bravery and already seems to be dealing well with an intensity in Ligue 1 that is not much different than what he will find at the Premier League level.
That said, don’t expect him to be a playmaker for Arsenal. While the 22-year-old is comfortable on the ball and calm under pressure, he is not overly creative in his passing game. In Lille, however, he liked to hit a long ball “over the top” when it was on, with the speedy Victor Osimhen (now at Napoli) often proving to be a natural target.
There are also doubts about how Mikel Arteta intends to use the defender. If the Arsenal manager opts for a back four, Gabriel could sit alongside David Luiz, a combination that would make sense as the newcomer would likely feel more comfortable having a compatriot alongside him during his debut season in the Premier League. . . Despite Luiz’s tendency to cause some “hairy” moments for the Gunners, he is certainly capable of assuming a mentoring role as Fonte did in Lille, speaking and directing from behind. Likewise, Gabriel certainly has the pace to make up for Luiz’s potential mistakes. Perhaps even more appealing would be to have Gabriel playing on Luiz’s left side with another newcomer, right-hander William Saliba, on the right, in a back three.
The good news for Arsenal fans is that whether his back line consists of three or four defenders, the pace, tactical awareness and athleticism of his two new Ligue 1 recruits should make him that much more reliable. and solid than has been the case recently. .
