A Progress Report on Arsenal's January Signing Gabriel Paulista

It could be argued that Arsenal’s acquisition of Gabriel Paulista was an emergency signing. By the time the January transfer window rolled around, the Gunners were absolutely desperate for a new centre-half.

Arsenal’s previous Brazilian buy had been made with a similar sense of urgency. On deadline day in the summer of 2011, the Gunners had swooped to sign Andre Santos from Fenerbahce. The parallel between the two deals ends there: While Santos was a largely disastrous signing, the early indications are that Gabriel has all the attributes required to be a stalwart of the side for years to come.

He made his debut in the FA Cup tie against Middlesbrough, but was largely untested. It was on his Premier League debut, against Everton, that we really began to see what he was made of. His rugged performance won plenty of praise, with one perfectly timed sliding challenge on Romelu Lukaku standing out.

Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

His other noteworthy display came at St. James’ Park against Newcastle United, when he partnered Laurent Koscielny in a 2-1 victory. This was a robust, typically English encounter, yet Gabriel came through with flying colours. His tenacious style seems to make him a perfect fit for English football.

That’s borne out by the statistics. According to Squawka, Gabriel has won an incredible 73 percent of his Premier League duels since joining in January. That’s the highest success ratio of any outfield player in the Arsenal squad. By way of comparison, Per Mertesacker has been successful in 66 percent of encounters, and Koscielny in 51.

The numbers also demonstrate his willingness to face an aerial onslaught: Thus far, he has won 86 percent of his 14 headed duels.

Via Squawka.com

Encouragingly for Arsene Wenger, Gabriel seems capable of playing alongside both Koscielny and Mertesacker. That versatility ensures the Arsenal boss has plenty of options and can rotate and deploy his defenders depending on the nature of the opposition. On the early evidence, Gabriel’s lightning recovery speed makes him an excellent option against attackers with pace.

A spate of defensive injuries last month even saw Gabriel earn his first call-up to the Brazil international squad. He was obviously delighted with this latest development, telling the Arsenal website:

"

I am very happy with the news, and it is a dream for any player to wear the shirt of your country. I'll play the best possible way. It is a valuable opportunity and I hope that is the first call of many.

It will be an incentive for me to continue working hard at Arsenal. It will not be easy, because the Brazilian team has great quality, but I will work hard to get my place in the team.

"

He is still awaiting his first full cap, but it can’t be too far away. What’s most exciting about Gabriel is that at 24, he remains young for a centre-half. The chances are that he will improve as he moves in to his late 20s. If Gabriel can build on his impressive start to life in the Premier League, he has a fantastic chance of becoming a regular with both club and country.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout the 2014-15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.