It’s safe to say that Arsenal’s defence has come a long way under the stewardship of Mikel Arteta.
Flash back to the dark days of Arsene Wenger’s last few years with the Gunners and you’ll unfortunately remember some error-stricken defenders who weren’t up to the task.
The likes of Shkodran Mustafi, Sebastian Squillaci and David Luiz aren’t remembered too fondly by supporters at the Emirates Stadium and rightfully so.
Mustafi was perhaps the worst of the lot with some of his mistakes in the 2019/20 season preventing Unai Emery’s men from sealing Champions League football.
Thankfully, players like that are no more. Arteta now has one of the finest defences in European football at his disposal with the likes of Gabriel and William Saliba two colossal figures at the back.
Last term, Arsenal shipped just 29 goals in their 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 couple more horsepower. He’s like the stylish Range Rover. A man for all occasions, for all weathers.
Gabriel's season in numbers so far
The Brazilian, signed for £27m from Lille back in 2020, has proven to be one of the very best signings of the Arteta era to date.
He is a man mountain and has already scored four goals from set-piece scenarios this term. His latest two came during the club’s last couple of matches, powering home a header at the back post against Sporting in midweek before scoring a more deft header at the near post when Arsenal thumped West Ham 5-2 on Saturday.
Gabriel, although withdrawn at half-time, was one of the stars of the show as he so often is and he’s finally stepped out of Saliba’s shadow.
He is perhaps the best defender in the Premier League, certainly when it comes to the offensive phases of play.
So, why is he so good? Well, it helps that the Gunners are the best corner-takers in the land.
Gabriel’s headed goal against the Hammers this weekend turned out to be Arsenal’s 20th from a corner in the league since the beginning of last season. For context, no team have scored more from such situations over that time. Furthermore, Gabriel’s haul of five goals from corners are more than any other Premier League defender during the same time frame.
If you want even more numbers to marvel at, since the Brazilian arrived in England in 2020, no centre-back has scored more in Europe’s top five leagues than the 26-year-old’s 17.
He’s pretty damn good, isn’t he? Well, what if there was a defender with even more goals for Arsenal? Yes, that player does exist.
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The only Arsenal defender with more goals than Gabriel
Back in July 2010, Arsene Wenger used the club’s chequebook to sign a Frenchman. Surprise, surprise.
On this occasion, however, it was not a player of Thierry Henry’s calibre, nor was it a player of the calibre of a certain Robert Pires.
Instead, it was a defender. Laurent Koscielny penned terms after moving from Ligue 1 side Lorient for a fee of just £8.5m. As it turned out, that was one of the biggest bargains the great Wenger secured during his time in north London.
Why? Well, it wasn’t just Koscielny’s longevity that stood out but his leadership and his ability to score some pretty important goals shone through, just as it has with Gabriel in Arsenal colours.
For a moment, we want to put aside the controversial way in which the centre-back eventually left. Club captain, he was announced as a Bordeaux player by ripping off an Arsenal shirt. It was bizarre, right?
But anyway, the France international should be remembered for what he actually brought to the pitch during a time when Wenger’s side were far from amazing defensively.
He eventually left the club with a whopping 353 appearances in all competitions and in the words of Rio Ferdinand in 2015, he was the very best the English top-flight had to offer at that time.
“Laurent Koscielny, when he’s on form, he’s the best defender in the league for me. He’s one of those you don’t want to play against – he’s quick, he’s aggressive,”
Fine praise indeed from a defender who wasn’t a bad player during his pomp either. So, where does the now 39-year-old rank among Arsenal defenders? Right up there.
1. Koscielny
22
11.1 games
2. Gabriel
17
8.3 games
3. Vermaelen
13
8.4 games
4. Gallas
12
8.4 games
=4 Adams
12
21.2 games
6. Toure
9
25 games
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 greater regularity but it cannot be understated just how good the former Lorient star was during his time at the Emirates.
He scored a thumping goal away at Manchester City, the winner in a comeback victory against Everton and perhaps most memorably, scored the equalising goal in the FA Cup final against Hull City.
All in all, it’s safe to say that was £8.5m well spent, don’t you think?
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