The mid-week UEFA Champions League defeat in Croatia against Dinamo Zagreb was a reality check for Arsenal and their young centre-back, Gabriel Paulista.
The 24 year-old has had to wait for his chance in the first-team, following his January arrival from Villarreal, but has finally begun to establish himself in recent weeks.
Brought in for a 0-0 draw against Liverpool at the end of August, he was part of a defence that kept three consecutive clean sheets – the next two games were 1-0 and 2-0 wins over Newcastle United and Stoke City respectively – before that shock defeat in Zagreb.
Gabriel has been covering for Germany international Per Mertesacker and is proving to be a more than competent understudy.
Against Liverpool, he had a few nervy moments in the opening stages of the contest, but has been largely flawless since, even in the loss against Dinamo.
With Mertesacker reportedly set to be fit for this weekend’s trip to Chelsea, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger now has a dilemma.
Mertesacker has formed a solid partnership with Laurent Koscielny in recent seasons, but Gabriel is arguably a more complete defender.
He may lack Mertesacker’s experience, but his pace, physical presence and ability on the ball offers different characteristics that may be better suited to coping with Diego Costa.
