Arsenal rising up Premier League table with warrior Gabriel key

Three games into the Premier League season and the atmosphere surrounding the Emirates was toxic. Arsenal went into the first international break of 2021/22 on the back of three successive defeats at the hands of Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City as they conceded nine and scored none. 

Some were calling for Mikel Arteta to be sacked as the Gunners showed no signs of turning their fortunes around and footed the table at the end of August. Narrow wins over relegation candidates Norwich and Burnley did little to quell the dissenters, but after a rocky start to the campaign, Arsenal have begun to climb the Premier League table. A 2-0 win over Leicester on Saturday extended their unbeaten streak to seven games and lifted them into sixth. 

Of course, supporters demand a club of Arsenal's stature regularly compete for honours and to Arteta's credit, since the start of September, only Chelsea (18) have earned more points than Arsenal (17) in England's top tier. The Spaniard rode out the storm and steadied the ship. Summer arrivals Aaron Ramsdale and Takehiro Tomiyasu have earned their fair share of the plaudits for their part in a bolstered backline, but it feels as though praise for the pair means Gabriel has been somewhat overlooked. 

The Brazilian sat out the opening three league games of the season owing to injury, but returned for the win over Norwich and Arsenal have looked a far tougher side to break down with the centre-back featuring. Indeed, the number of goals conceded per game have dropped from 3.0 to 0.57 this season with Gabriel striking up a solid centre-back partnership with another summer addition, Benjamin White. 

Since his arrival from Lille, Gabriel has become a fan favourite for the Gunners with the club much-improved defensively when he does feature. Arsenal concede 0.93 goals per game when he does start, that rising to 1.32 per game when he is absent from the starting XI. The Gunners' win ratio also rises from 36.8% to 55.2% since the start of 2020/21. 

With Gabriel in defence, there is an element of composure found wanting in his absence. The 23-year-old doesn't panic at the back and this resonates throughout the side as they seek to keep hold of the ball and dominate opponents. Only Emile Smith Rowe (90%) has a better pass success rate than Gabriel (88.3%) of Arsenal regulars this season while 50 passes per 90 is the third best at the club behind Granit Xhaka (56.7) and Albert Sambi Lokonga (55.8). 

That isn't to say that Gabriel will adopt a more proactive approach to defending the Arsenal goal, as noted in his average of 4.4 clearances per 90, that more than any other Gunners regular, but shows that he is able to quickly assess a situation and make the right decision to ease pressure on the goal. 

This mental attribute is a key reason for Arsenal's new-found defensive resolve as there is less panic at the back when there is pressure on the backline. That has translated to a return of four clean sheets in seven games since the start of September, with two of the four goals they have conceded in that run coming as a result of individual errors from Thomas Partey and Lokonga, both of which were in the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace. 

Gabriel's performance at the King Power Stadium on Saturday was somewhat overshadowed by Ramsdale's match-winning display between the sticks, yet nothing should be taken away from another superb outing from the former Lille man at the heart of the defence. It now means that only Smith Rowe (7.09) has earned a better WhoScored rating than Gabriel (7.06) of all Arsenal players in the Premier League this season. 

As the Gunners continue to creep towards the top four, they'll be hopeful that Gabriel can continue to churn out consistent performances at the heart of the Arsenal defence in their bid to land silverware and return to European football. Now a solid defensive system is in place that is evidently working, the atmosphere in north London has completely changed and a key reason for that has been Gabriel's return to the side and subsequent showings alongside White.