Dropping points away to Sunderland was far from ideal, but even so, Arsenal are flying this season.
Unlike last season, Mikel Arteta’s side aren’t finding it hard to score goals, and thanks to their unreal defence, they rarely concede any.
This combination sees them sit atop the Premier League table, four points ahead of Manchester City and eight points clear of reigning champions Liverpool.
While there are several candidates, it would be fair to say that, so far, Gabriel Magalhães has been Arsenal’s player of the season, and Andrea Berta has already signed another version of the Brazilian.
Gabriel's development at Arsenal
Gabriel joined Arsenal from LOSC Lille for around £27m in the summer of 2020, and since then has developed significantly in practically every way imaginable.
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Now, the Brazilian wasn’t a bad player in his first season for the Gunners, but he wasn’t one of the first names on the teamsheet.
For example, he made just 32 appearances across all competitions for Arteta, of which 23 were in the league, averaging 1.57 points per game.
He would become more of an ever-present member of the backline over the following seasons, but even during the early stages of the 22/23 season, he was seen as someone who could be a liability.
In fact, following a game away to Leeds United, in which he had a penalty incident overturned, Rio Ferdinand pointed out that “every week he’s in the headlines or he’s in underneath with a little bullet point next to his name and a bad incident.”
Fortunately, towards the end of that year and in the campaigns since, the former Lille star has become increasingly dependable, to the point that he occasionally wears the captain’s armband and has been the club’s standout performer this year.
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.06
0.21
Shots
0.64
0.93
Passing Accuracy
85.3%
88.6%
Key Passes
0.11
0.34
Shot-Creating Actions
0.53
1.23
Goal-Creating Actions
0.04
0.27
Tackles Won
0.51
0.53
Shots Blocked
0.82
1.30
Passes Blocked
0.32
0.48
Dispossessed
0.32
0.00
Aerial Duels Won
2.59
3.22
Another way to see his growth is to compare his underlying numbers from his first season to those of today.
Doing this shows that the 27-year-old now wins more tackles, blocks more shots and passes, makes more clearances, wins more aerial duels, completes more of his passes, is a greater goal threat, and is far better at creating chances for his teammates.
In all, Gabriel has been able to channel his natural passion over the years and is now arguably the club’s most important defender, so it’s excellent news that Berta signed someone who could develop just like him.
Arsenal's new Gabriel
Arsenal are blessed with an abundance of extremely talented defenders, but when it comes to the one most likely to develop down a Gabriel-esque path, it’s impossible to ignore Cristhian Mosquera.
Andrea Berta signed the Spanish centre-back from Valencia in the summer, for a fee of just £13m, which one content creator fairly described as “a steal.”
Now, the 21-year-old certainly has some of the elegance of a William Saliba, and could certainly be that ball-playing passing machine at the back, but it still feels like he is going to evolve to be more like the Brazilian.
One of the main reasons is that, despite being so young and having only just joined the team, he already appears mature beyond his years, as exemplified by his unfazed performance against Liverpool at Anfield earlier in the season.
More crucially, though, the 6 foot 3 “monster,” as club insider Hand of Arsenal dubbed him, seems to relish the more physical side of the game.
Sure, he can play it safe, but as respected analyst Ben Mattinson points out, he very clearly “loves to battle with physical attackers” and “thrives in ground duels due.”
Further described as an “absolute cheat code of a player” by Arsenal content creator Harold Hickman, he has already proven himself to be something of a leader.
For example, in his recent games for Spain’s U21 side, he has had the responsibility of wearing the captain’s armband.
Ultimately, it’s still early in his career, but thanks to his composure, ability to compete in physical duels, and passion for doing so, it looks like Arsenal have themselves another Gabriel in Mosquera.
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