Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has praised Gabriel on the club’s official website following the match against West Ham United at London Stadium.
Arteta has said that Arsenal central defender Gabriel has grown a lot and is now respected by all of his teammates at the North London club.
The 24-year-old Brazilian defender, who cost Arsenal £27 million in the summer of 2020 (Sky Sports), scored for the Gunners in their 2-1 win against West Ham in the London derby on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta on Arsenal centre-back Gabriel
Arteta said about Gabriel on Arsenal’s official website: “I think he has grown so much, especially as a character.
“Obviously his English is better, the way he is presenting himself, the respect that he earned around the boys.
“Those performances have been really consistent throughout the season, defending and now scoring really important goals for us, which is an add on that you hope to have in your centre defenders but it’s easy to find.”
Important player
In our opinion, Gabriel is now one of the best and most important players for Arsenal and has been superb all season.
The 24-year-old centre-back has forged a strong partnership with Ben White at the heart of the Arsenal back-line.
As we saw against West Ham, Gabriel can play with another centre-back as well, Rob Holding in this case.
The Brazilian scored the winning goal for Arsenal against the Hammers in the Premier League game.
Gabriel has scored four goals in 31 Premier League appearances for the Gunners this season.
Arsenal are in a very good position to finish in the Premier League top four this season, and we think that Gabriel will have to stay on top of his game in the final matches.
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