It’s safe to say that ArsenalHis defense has come a long way under his watch Mikel Arteta.
Look back at the dark days of Arsene Wenger’s final years with the Gunners and you’ll unfortunately recall some defenders who were plagued by mistakes that were not up to their standards.
His supporters at the Emirates Stadium do not remember Shkodran Mustafi, Sebastian Schillaci and David Luiz too fondly and rightly so.
Mustafi was perhaps the worst of the lot with some of his mistakes in 2019/20 preventing Unai Emery’s men from sealing Champions League football.
Fortunately, such players do not exist anymore. Arteta now has one of the best defenses in European football at his disposal with others Gabriel and William Saliba two colossal figures in the rear.
Last term, Arsenal have scored just 29 goals in 38 league games; the best record in the entire division.
While Saliba is the Rolls-Royce of the duo, Gabriel brings a bit more aggression and a bit more horsepower. It’s like the stylish Range Rover. A man for all occasions, for all weathers.
Gabriel’s season by the numbers so far
the brazilian signed for £27m from Lille in 2020it has proved to be one of the best signings of the Arteta era to date.
He is a mountain man and he has already scored four goals from set pieces scripts this term. His last two came during the club’s last two games, with a header at the back post against Sporting in midweek before a more deft header at the near post as Arsenal beat West Ham 5-2 in Saturday.
Gabriel, although withdrawn at half-time, was one of the stars of the show as he often is and finally stepped out of Saliba’s shadow.
He is probably the best defender Premier Leaguecertainly when it comes to the attacking phases of the game.
So why is he so good? Well, it helps that the Gunners are the best corners in the country.
Gabriel’s header against the Hammers this weekend proved to be Arsenal’s 20th from a corner in the league since the beginning of last season. For context, no team has scored more in such situations in that time. Furthermore, Gabriel’s five goals from corners are more than any other Premier League defender in the same period.
If you want even more numbers to admire, since the Brazilian arrived in England in 2020no centre-back has scored more in Europe’s top five leagues than the 26-year-old’s 17.
He’s very nice, isn’t he? So what if there was a defender with even more goals for Arsenal? Yes, this player exists.
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The only Arsenal defender with more goals than Gabriel
In July 2010, Arsene Wenger used the club’s checkbook to sign a Frenchman. Surprise, surprise.
In this case, however, he was not a player of the caliber of Thierry Henry, nor was he a player of the caliber of a certain Robert Pires.
Instead, he was defensive. Laurent Koscielny has penned terms after moving from Ligue 1 side Lorient for a fee of just £8.5 million. As it turned out, this was one of the biggest bargains secured by the great Wenger during his time in north London.
Why? Well, it wasn’t just Koscielny’s longevity that stood out, but his leadership and ability to score some important goals shone through, just as it did with Gabriel in Arsenal colours.
We want to put aside for a moment the controversial manner in which the centre-back finally left. Club captain, announced as a Bordeaux player by ripping off an Arsenal shirt. It was weird, right?
But regardless, the France international should be remembered for what he really brought to the pitch at a time when Wenger’s side were nothing short of spectacular defensively.
He eventually left the club with 353 appearances in all competitions and in the words of Rio Ferdinand in 2015, it was the best the English top flight had to offer at the time.
“Laurent Koscielny, when he’s fit, is the best defender in the league for me. He’s one of those guys you don’t want to play against – he’s quick, he’s aggressive.”
Nice praise from a defender who wasn’t a bad player during his prime. So where does the now 39-year-old rank amongst Arsenal’s defenders? Right up there.
|
Arsenal’s top scoring defenders |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Goals |
Scoring frequency |
|
1. Koscielny |
22 |
11.1 Games |
|
2. Gabriel |
17 |
8.3 games |
|
3. Entertainment |
13 |
8.4 games |
|
4. Disadvantages |
12 |
8.4 games |
|
=4 Adams |
12 |
21.2 games |
|
6. Toure |
9 |
25 games |
|
Statistics via StatMuse (PL only). |
||
As you can see, Koscielny happens to be the highest scoring defender in Premier League history for Arsenal.
Yes, the dominant Gabriel is currently finding the net with more regularity, but it cannot be understated how good the former Lorient star has been during his time at the Emirates.
He scored a stunning goal away to Manchester City, the winner in a comeback win against Everton and perhaps most notably, scored the equalizer in the FA Cup final against Hull City.
All in all, it’s safe to say £8.5 million was well spent, don’t you think?
