Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has explained on the club’s official website his decision to take off Gabriel against Southampton at the weekend.
The Gunners got the better of Southampton 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday.
Brazilian defender Gabriel started the match in central defence alongside Ben White.
The £27 million central defender (Sky Sports) was taken off for Rob Holding in the 70th minute.
Arsenal boss Arteta has said that he had to protect Gabriel and took him off because he was on a yellow card.
Mikel Arteta on Arsenal defender Gabriel
Arteta said about Gabriel: “He had a booking so I decided to take him off.”
Smart decision from Arsenal boss
In our opinion, Arteta made a very smart decision regarding Arsenal central defender Gabriel.
Arsenal were already 3-0 up at that stage.
And Southampton were posing no problem whatsoever for the Gunners.
So, in our view, it made sense for Arteta not to risk anything with Gabriel and simply take him off because he was on a booking.
Gabriel played well against Southampton and also scored in the 52nd minute.
We think that Gabriel is one of the best and most important players at Arsenal and will be a key figure in their quest to finish in the Premier League top four this season.
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