Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhães could cost Arsenal points in the long-run.
That is according to broadcaster Kweku Afari, who was speaking on the talkSPORT Gameday podcast, following the Gunners’ 1-0 win at Leeds United on Sunday.
It looked as though Gabriel had given away a penalty and received a red-card in stoppage time in the Premier League clash, but VAR overturned the initial decision made by on-pitch referee Chris Kavanagh, and the side went on to win the game.
The 24-year-old has been part of a defence that has joint second-best defensive record in the league, having only conceded ten goals in the Premier League so far this season.
But Afari believes that the Brazilian is “a player that needs to be watched,” despite the club’s success so far this season.
“Speaking about Gabriel I think he’s a player that you need to keep an eye on, because he’s going to cost Arsenal going forward, he almost cost them yesterday,” Afari told the talkSPORT Gameday podcast (13:37).
“With the games I’ve seen, especially in the big games, we saw the mistake in the North London Derby, we saw it last season when they played against Man City he got himself sent off.
“He’s a player that needs to be watched.”
TIF Thoughts on Afari’s comments…
Whilst we agree that Gabriel has got an occasionally big mistake in him, like what we saw when he gave away a penalty in the club’s 3-1 victory over Spurs at the beginning of the month, we feel that Afari’s comments are a tad harsh on the £23.14m 2020 signing.
The São-Paulo born defender has after all been part of a side that currently sit top of the Premier League table ten games into the season, and we feel that in the long run he will only improve with experience. He ranks first for clearances, in the top 5 for tackles and has the eighth best player rating on average this season, so he’s clearly doing some things right.
Therefore, we think that Gabriel is more likely to be a positive addition to the Arsenal backline, rather than a hindrance.