Journalist Charles Watts believes it is ‘a possibility’ that Arsenal defender Gabriel could face being benched soon after ‘question marks’ have been raised over his recent form.
The Gunners have started the season in great form, currently sitting atop the Premier League table after six games and leading their Europa League group after winning their opening game last week.
Despite this, with Gabriel and William Saliba starting the campaign in the middle of the back four, this could change very soon as Watts claimed the Brazilian could be dropped due to recent errors.
Watts said on his YouTube channel: “Maybe there’s question marks over Gabriel’s form at the moment, he’s made a couple of errors in recent games. Is there a possibility of maybe dropping Gabriel and moving Ben White into centre-back, playing him with Saliba and then playing Tomiyasu at right-back? Yes, it’s a possibility.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen. Yes, he’s made a couple of errors, but he’s still very, very important when it comes to Mikel Arteta. He offers threat going forward as well from set pieces, and more importantly, he offers that balance as he’s left-footed, and Mikel always likes to play with a left-footed centre-back as part of that two.”
TIF Thoughts on Watts’ comments…
The 24-year-old Brazilian has started and played the full 90 minutes in every game so far for the north London side and they have only lost once so far. However, he has shown he is prone to a big mistake, as made clear in the game against Fulham when he gifted them a goal.
While he has been impressive for the most part, White has shown his class in recent seasons and was hailed recently by Jamie Redknapp as ‘fantastic’. White has bags of potential and should be given the chance to start in his natural position this season, which may see Gabriel fall out of the starting side.
It is not all bad for the player, as at just 24, he still has a lot of time to improve and cut out these kinds of mistakes that could see him dropped. It would not be the end of the world if he misses the next game, and might even spark something in the defender. It feels like a win-win situation if Arteta was bold enough to make a change.
Should Arsenal drop Gabriel?Yes
No
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