Gabriel Paulista to Arsenal: Everything You Need to Know About Gunners Signing
Villarreal have announced centre-back Gabriel Paulista will indeed join the Arsenal cause this week, while Joel Campbell will head in the opposite direction on a six-month loan deal.
That's according to Spanish newspaper Sport, which claims the uncapped Brazilian has evaded any work permit issues to sign, Bleacher Report's Guillem Balague stating the fee is £15 million:
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But just who is Arsene Wenger's newest acquisition and the would-be answer to Arsenal's lack in defensive depth?
Name: Gabriel Armando de Abreu
Birth Date: November 26, 1990 (24 years old)
Position: Centre-Back
Former Clubs: Vitoria (2010-2013), Villarreal (2013-2015)
Origins
Born and raised in Sao Paulo, Gabriel made his senior debut for Bahia outfit Vitoria in 2010. The defender was only 19 at the time of his professional debut and also featured at full-back for the Salvador club before cementing his place in central defence.
While with Vitoria, the defender saw the ups and downs of relegation and promotion, but was voted the Campeonato Baiano's best defender for two seasons in a row (2012, 2013) prior to his departure for Villarreal.
In 2013, his last year in Brazil, Gabriel also won the Campeonato Baiano title, beating rivals Bahia 8-4 across two legs, the first in which he scored the game's opener after just two minutes.
| Season (Club) | League Appearances |
| 2014-15 (Villarreal) | 19 |
| 2013-14 (Villarreal) | 18 |
| 2013 (Vitoria) | 14 (Serie A) |
| 2012 (Vitoria) | 35 (Serie B) |
| 2011 (Vitoria) | 17 (Serie B) |
| 2010 (Vitoria) | 11 (Serie A) |
That rise through the South American ranks led to European interest, and in the summer of 2013, the Yellow Submarine invested a modest fee of £2.5 million in his talent (a sum they'll now make back five-fold).
Gabriel mustered just 18 La Liga appearances during the 2013-14 campaign, helping Villarreal finish sixth in what was a very promising introduction to European football.
Marcelino Garcia Toral's faith in the player has evidently grown, though, with the 24-year-old already beating last season's appearance tally this campaign, making 19 league outings and 29 in total.
As he leaves El Madrigal, Gabriel has helped Villarreal to possess the joint-third best defence in La Liga, conceding just 17 goals this term, so it's fair to say his addition has helped their stinginess at the back.
What He Brings to Arsenal
Something Per Mertesacker perhaps wishes he had more of, Gabriel brings an uncommonly quick presence to Wenger's back line and is highly regarded for his pace off the ball.
Spanish writer Sergi Dominguez compares him to imminent team-mate Laurent Koscielny in this regard:
At just over 6'1", Gabriel is hardly the most totemic of Premier League centre-backs and certainly won't look as such standing next to one of Mertesacker's stature, but it doesn't deter his heading ability.
Samuel Marsden of the Mirror recently quoted the defender as saying, when asked what he was bringing to El Madrigal upon his 2013 arrival:
"It's difficult to speak about yourself, but people around me say I'm really quick and good in the air. They also say I have a really good capacity to recover, both on and off the pitch. But I still want to grow. I can still improve a lot."
His speed across the pitch will go down well in the English top flight, but the real test will be in examining the player's positional awareness and how he deals with the lurking threat of the Premier League's big guns.
As Eurosport illustrates, via Squawka, Gabriel possesses a better interception rate than any other centre-back under Wenger's command so far this season and only Koscielny averages more clearances:
It's certainly no bad thing that Gabriel's physical assets also make him capable of playing at full-back, but Arsenal fans will want an established central force.
He's played at left-back for the Yellow Submarine on several occasions and although right-footed, is far from inept on his weaker side.
Don't Call Me Paulista
As is so often the case with South American talent, Gabriel's name may be of some confusion to Europeans. Despite his nickname,"Paulista" isn't actually part of the defender's name.
As Arseblog's Tim Stillman explains, "Paulista" is merely a term used to describe someone from Sao Paulo:
One can expect "Gabriel" to be the name by which he goes in the Premier League and with not nearly as much chance of running into another one, he should be able to establish himself as something of a unique brand.
