The Catalan press might be licking their lips at the prospect of Gabriel joining Barcelona but the Brazilian defender maintains he’s “very happy” at Arsenal.
While there’s nothing to suggest there was any substance to SPORT’s article, which claimed the likes of Neto, Memphis Depay and Riqui Puig would be available in part exchange, it definitely doesn’t hurt that our centre-back has poured cold water on the story before the transfer window opens in the summer.
Gabriel has formed a strong partnership with Ben White in the centre of Arsenal’s defence this season and looks a far more assured and consistent presence compared to the player that joined from Lille for £27 million in September 2020.
More than anything, he’s benefitted from an improvement in his English which allows him to communicate with (and b*llock) his teammates more freely.
Reflecting on his time in England, he told Premier League Productions: “Well in my first season I certainly learnt a lot.
“It’s been a real challenge here and I am more and more settled every day. I feel better and better with each passing game.
“At the same time, we know we all can’t be perfect in every match. We do make mistakes.
“But I feel good, I feel at home at Arsenal. It’s a great squad to be a part of and together I am sure we can achieve a lot. I am very happy here.”
After last week’s two defeats, the odds on the Gunners qualifying for the Champions League have slimmed dramatically. All the same, Gabriel maintains that the squad are focused on achieving their goal.
“Reaching the top four is our aim, but we know how tough it will be,” he said.
“It’s a big challenge but I do believe we can get there. We are working hard and it’s the target we want to achieve. We have to stick together. We need to be focused to get good results.”
Arsenal have a chance to get back on track against Southampton on Saturday before a massive trio of matches that sees us take on Chelsea, Manchester United and West Ham in quick succession.
We get a £40m offer for Gabriel and Saliba wants to come back. Thumbs up for pulling the trigger on that deal and thumbs down for being sensible.
Go!
This team first needs a solid spine before we start selling any of its vertebraes.
What a humerus response.
If this were The Guardian, there would be a long series of increasingly less original puns relating to bones. And if one of those were self-referential, it would be a metatarsal.
Barca may be lumbaring after him, but make no bones about it, his graft at the foot of our defence for years to come could place him well tibia club legend.
Should that not be ‘metatarse-al’
I think, really, it should not be at all.
Be nice to support a team for more than a season and a half without imagining endless musical chairs. He’s a good young player, we need those and more. The Kroenkes don’t need more money.
Do you think pass the parcel would be more appropriate?
This is why I’ve kept hammering home the importance of top four this year.
The agents of the Fab Four will be on the hunt for their clients if we don’t start bucking up our ideas – and fast.
40m for a young Brazilian international, who hasn’t reached his peak?
No chance!
Ben White minus the English tax, innit.
Saliba plays on the right side, how would this be beneficial for anyone involved
Oh yeah, I forgot. Totally different positions. How mental would a right sider playing on the left be?
“ More than anything, he’s benefitted from an improvement in his English which allows him to communicate with (and b*llock) his teammates more freely.”
I know that his english is still pretty terrible but let’s hope he can pick it up better soon
If Real were to offer £50 million I would take the money. Gabriel, like many of his team mates plays well in the games where there is no pressure, but in those games where you have to “step up” – like the Palace and Brighton games they simply fold. If any team came in with an attractive offer for any of these players I would take it. Arsenal need players who can deliver under pressure. Not players who think it is easier to take a little media stick so they don’t have to push themselves too hard.. I look how… Read more »
So we didn’t need to “step up” against Wolves or Villa then?
Irrelevant.
They needed to step up every game.
Not here and there…
So a player needs to play well in every single game?
When you are chasing top four and champions league then yes it helps.
Mate, go back to your FIFA 22.
In the real world, there is no such thing as a player who plays well in every single game.
Even Pelé, Maradona, George Best, Liam Brady, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Ronaldo and Messi have had their off days. Not many, but they weren’t perfect every single game.
No one is.
I don’t agree with you.
Leicester away springs to mind.
Gabriel was a colossus in that game.
Most times, Gabriel struggles in games our midfield is easily bypassed.
Thank fuck you’re not in charge of the transfers.
We finally get a decent centre half pairing for the first time in nigh two decades – and you want to break it up already for a lousy £50m….? 😂
Kos and Mert have something to say about that
Kos and Mert, along with the rest of our leaky defence, cost us the Premiership title in 2015/16.
They were as much as reason for Leicester City winning it – and Arsenal not winning it – as Vardy and Co.
Downvote all you want, but it’s the cold light of day truth.
Top 4 looks unlikely from here, sadly. And that is quite a deflating anti-climax to the thrill of a possible CL football. Next season will be dicey. Will Conte push on from this season? Likely. How will Ten Hag fare in his first season at United? Rebuild job. How will we fare? Depends on what we do in the summer. But my greatest worry is Arteta. Does he have the technical and tactical flexibility to handle the challenges of fighting in the top end of the Premier league? I don’t know. This season might have been our best opportunity to… Read more »
I’m glad I’m not your cat.
I wouldn’t worry too much about those two. Conte will have one year left on his contract and I highly doubt whether he has extended his contract in the past anywhere (except maybe at Juventus). Manu will find ways to shoot themselves regardless of who comes in. As long as spectre of SAF hangs around, that job is a poisoned chalice.
No point in qualifying for a seat at the big boys table, if the manager isn’t up to competing at the top end of the league
I agree with you. The 2 -10 mauling over two legs by Bayern still rankles.
Such scorelines shouldn’t be in a CL knockout stage!
My fear is that in the coming 2 or 3 years Arsenal will become a selling club.
If you’re one of the top players at the club and a big offer comes in from a Barcelona or Real Madrid then it’s a no-brainer to go. Arsenal is a club with shambolic management from top to bottom that is a long way from winning either of the two big trophies. Why waste your career at a club going nowhere?
Saka, Gabriel, Tierney and even Ramsdale could all be off to places where they might have much better careers.
Even when we were a good team and were successful they were always sniffing around.
Barcelona are not the team they once were and even Real don’t have the financial strength they once had.
Arsenal need to make major strides and make themselves an attractive club to serve your career.
If they don’t then they will get what they deserve..
There are, in reality, only a handful of clubs that are clearly superior in competitive prospects with similar wages as Arsenal. The two in Spain, PSG, Bayern (though possibly with lower wages except the big stars), Juve (maybe), and four–or maybe only three with Abramovich gone–English clubs.
And that has been true (subtract PSG, City, and Liverpool, but add Milan) for two decades.
I wouldn’t write off Chelsea and we’ll soon be surpassed by Newcastle. They’ll go through their phase of overpaying for the likes of Robinho, Adebayor etc initially but it won’t take long before they’re buying top shelf talent. Consistent Champions League made us an appealing destination (and a top manager did no harm). Without that, sure we can pay more than most, but we won’t be able to lure the players worthy of the big pay or retain our best.
They could and they will if we don’t show some ambition. Some sales may be necessary. Folk say Liverpool is the model, but they sold as they built. Key is they (mostly) sold well and bought well. Last summer mostly it seems we bought well. Let’s hope that wasn’t a fluke.
It’s very much on Edu and his group to keep that up while learning how to get some money in.
How Edu (and Mik) turned down an in-form striker – English-born, boyhood Gooner – who wanted to move to us for a bargain 32m, is beyond me.
Tammy scored (again!) last night for Roma… that’s 17 in 24 matches in all comps, never mind his 5 assists!
I don’t think we turned him down. The stories I found reliable said that we were after him, but our failure to shift any of our strikers was the reason we couldn’t get him.
As I remember, he was a very unpopular signing with us fans at the time – not another Chelski player – despite the fact that he would have fitted in very nicely and was available for a good price. One season in Italy must be enough to remove the Stamford Bridge stigma.
Even Lukaku dominated Italy
It seems you have watched Liverpool and Man City reach CL semifinals, FA Cup semifinals and fighting to win the league.
You may want to replace Barca with Frankfurt in your comment, mate.
Fuck off Xavi, you little Barca DNA tapping up turd.