Gabriel V2

After a short summer in unprecedented circumstances, Arsenal’s season gets underway tomorrow just under a month since their FA Cup triumph. With such a short interlude, less has happened in terms of transfers and preparation than usual but Arsenal have had another positive week with imminent signing Gabriel Magalhães flying to London and a 4-1 victory over MK Dons. Arsenal fans have been all over the Gabriel transfer, bombarding his social media accounts, analysing his pictures and even catching him on a traffic camera on the way from the airport. Similar excitement was seen on Tuesday with William Saliba making his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt, putting in an impressive display. With one area of defence being strengthened, another looks like it may be weakened with talk of Sead Kolasinac being loaned to Shalke and Wolves bidding for Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

It was reported at the weekend that Arsenal have agreed a deal for 22 year old Gabriel Magalhães from Lille for a fee of up to £27 million (add-ons included). The Brazilian defender was Arsenal’s top defensive target this summer and his imminent signing will hopefully help to fix the defensive issues which have plagued the club for the past few years. Gabriel fits the profile that Arteta is looking for, he’s 6ft 3, left footed and confident on the ball, able to play line breaking passes as well as long balls over the top. This should give Arsenal options on the left side of defence with Gabriel and Marí in order to allow Tierney to move back to fullback/wing-back. It’s likely for the early part of the season Arteta plays 3 at the back with Saliba on the right, David Luiz in the middle and Gabriel on the left, giving Arsenal 3 players who are confident on the ball and can help transition the ball from defence to attack quickly. In contrast to some of Arsenal’s recent centre back signings, Gabriel has his best years to come and should he form a good relationship with William Saliba, Arsenal may well have a central defensive partnership for many years. With his medical completed on Monday, Gabriel now has to abide by the 14 day quarantine rule but he should be in contention for Arsenal’s opener away at Fulham on September 12th.

(Image: Getty Images)

On Tuesday evening, Arsenal travelled to Milton Keynes, beating MK Dons in a behind closed doors friendly 4-1 with goals from Elneny, Nketiah, McGuiness and Nelson. This was Arsenal’s first pre-season game ahead of the new season and whilst friendlies have to be taken with a pinch of salt, it gave us a glimpse of the players and tactics. Arteta opted for a fairly senior team and continued with the 3-4-3 from the end of last season, playing: Leno; Saliba, Holding, Tierney; Cédric, Elneny, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles; Saka, Nketiah, Aubameyang. The selection of Elneny was interesting as he has just returned from a loan spell with Beşiktaş but given Arsenal’s lack of depth in midfield, Arteta may turn to him to fill one of those roles this season. His goal will have helped his case. Arsenal pressed MK Dons at the back, forcing their keeper into a wayward pass which Elneny placed into the net first time from 35 yards out. This was also the first chance to see William Saliba in an Arsenal shirt. Whilst it’s hard to judge based on a friendly, Saliba had an encouraging outing, demonstrating his pace and power as well as his confidence and ability on the ball. His role in Arsenal’s second goal shows how Arsenal’s attack will evolve this season with Saliba picking the ball up on the edge of his box and driving forward, releasing Cédric down the right who played it to Saka ahead of him before the ball was cut back for Nketiah to score. Saliba’s willingness and ability to drive forward helped to open up the space and kick-start attacks down the right which is something Arsenal avoided at times last season. All in all it was a good run out and an encouraging display for the team.

Despite having the first choice fullbacks fit for the new season for the first time in several years, it has again become a fascinating area of the squad heading into the upcoming campaign. On the right Hector Bellerín appears to have reclaimed his place as the starting right back, slowly coming into form towards the end of last season, and whilst some fans are questioning him, the vice-captain deserves a place in the team at the start of the season. His deputy will be Cédric Soares, who was bizarrely re-announced this week alongside Pablo Marí. However, on the left, the situation is a little trickier. Kieran Tierney is the first choice option, although towards the end of the season, and in the MK Dons friendly, he was deployed as a left sided centre back. The signings of Gabriel Magalhães and Pablo Marí should see him move back out wide for the start of the campaign. His deputy is currently up in the air with both Sead Kolasinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles linked with moves away. Kolasinac’s former club Shalke have reportedly been in contact with Arsenal about a possible loan move which would see Kolasinac return for the upcoming season. Given his lacklustre performances over the past year and his wages, it makes sense to move him on, if only for a year, however with Tierney’s injury concerns, Arsenal will need someone to step in at points during the season. That someone is looking less and less likely to be Ainsley Maitland-Niles. The 22 year old has been subject to a £15-£20 million bid from Wolves as they look to replace the potentially departing Matt Doherty. Arsenal rejected that bid as they value the Englishman higher due to his versatility and performances at the end of last season. Despite praising Maitland-Niles in his press conference on Thursday, Arteta did not offer a categorical denial of a potential exit and with another Wolves bid looking likely, he could be off in the coming weeks. This leaves Arsenal in a difficult positon, particularly on the left. If Maitland-Niles is to leave, the club will have to decide whether or not they wish to move on Kolasinac as well and sign a different player to cover for Tierney. The team selection on Saturday for the Community Shield could shed some more light on who is likely to stay or go.

Arsenal return to Wembley tomorrow for the Community Shield against Premier League Champions Liverpool at 4:30pm. Whilst the importance of the fixture has been debated by many, a trip to Wembley is always something to enjoy and it will be a good test against one of the world’s best sides. It will be interesting to see how Arteta lines the team up with a number of stars returning to pre-season slightly later and the quarantine rules preventing players from returning to training but it should give an indication as to who is in Arteta’s thinking for the start of the season. Fans will be hopeful for another glimpse of William Saliba to see how he fares against top class opposition, so whilst the game’s importance is questioned, there will be some takeaways regardless. In the meantime, hopefully Arsenal make some announcements!

Adam Perry - 28/08/2020