Speaking to Jack Fealy on YouTube, Alan Smith has praised Mikel Arteta for improving Gabriel Magalhaes after the Brazilian’s arrival at Arsenal.
The ex-Gunners striker was talking about the club’s recruitment, and he named the centre-back as one of Arsenal’s better signings this summer, before going on to say that he’s done so well due to the coaching he is getting from Arteta and his backroom staff.
“Well, you want to buy the right players for the right positions, but it’s about buying good players.” Smith said.
“The likes of Gabriel, Arsenal do need to be creative, sometimes it’s more of a gamble. Taking more of a gamble rather than getting somebody readymade who you know is going to be good at this level.
“But it comes down to improving players when they come into the club, the coaching that the likes of Gabriel get, and that comes down to Arteta and his coaching staff.”
Arteta has caught a lot of flak this season for Arsenal’s underperformance this term, but one thing he has done well is embed his new signings.
Gabriel has arguably been the Gunners’ player of the season, earning plaudits from pundits across the country, and that is down to Arteta’s ability to get him up to speed with the Gunners’ system.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as though the Spaniard has been able to have that sort of impact with every player, with the likes of Willian and Nicolas Pepe being heavily criticised this term.
But as Smith says, it’s about buying good players as well as players in the right positions.
The manager certainly deserves a lot of credit for his work with Gabriel.
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