Ian Wright has stated that he gets a ‘little nervy’ when watching Gabriel Magalhaes defend for Arsenal because he does ‘weird’ things, as he proved during his side’s 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta has elevated Arsenal’s defence even further this season – they have the second-best defence in the Premier League, alongside Manchester City and behind high-flyers, Newcastle United.
But Wright was pretty clear and admitted that if there was anything to be critical regarding Arsenal’s backline, then it would be Gabriel, who has had previous this season.
Against Forest, the £27 million player (Sky Sports) had a complete and utter brain freeze when, inside his own penalty area, he passed the ball straight to Jesse Lingard.
The Nottingham Forest playmaker managed to get his shot away at point-blank range, only for William Saliba to come to the rescue and block the effort.
At the time, the north London club were just 1-0 up, and had Lingard got his effort on target, then it would have been a certain goal, as Wright doesn’t understand what he sees from the 24-year-old at times, as he told Premier League Productions (30/10/22 at 2:55 pm).
“It looks weird, doesn’t it,” said Wright. “That is the only thing, for me, if you are going to be critical of Arsenal’s defence, then you would probably say it’s with someone like Gabriel.
“He does things which just make you a little nervy and that was another one.”
WILL CHELSEA TARGET GABRIEL?
There are European commitments in between for both clubs, but on Sunday, Stamford Bridge will be the setting for a mouthwatering London derby.
Arsenal got the better of Chelsea last season at the Bridge, but with Graham Potter in charge, he will want to have his own say, even though his team were thrashed 4-1 by Brighton on Saturday.
The great thing about this game is that both teams will go for it, be on the front foot and be aggressive in their press.
Chelsea have had their troubles at the back this season, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if certain players are targetted by the current Premier League leaders, but the same could be said for Gabriel, who has had some iffy moments in recent months.
