Arsenal's Need for a Defender Is More Pressing Than a Striker After Gabriel Blow

Ordinarily, any Arsenal victory over Manchester City would be something to celebrate. Even triumphing in a pre-season friendly can be interpreted as a positive omen for the forthcoming campaign. City are a club abuzz with excitement after the arrival of Pep Guardiola, yet Arsenal showed enough to topple them.

However, this win came at a big price.

In the final moments of the game, Gabriel Paulista had to be withdrawn with what appears to be a fairly serious injury. Arsenal’s defensive crisis has deepened right on the eve of the new campaign. 

Arsenal needed a new centre-half before this game had even been played. Arguably, they’ve needed one since the end of last season, when it became clear that Arsene Wenger didn’t have much faith in either Gabriel or Per Mertesacker as Laurent Koscielny’s regular partner.

A couple of weeks ago, the situation became graver when Mertesacker was ruled out for several months with a knee problem. With Koscielny still recuperating after reaching the final of UEFA Euro 2016, that left Wenger with just Gabriel and the inexperienced English pair of Calum Chambers and Rob Holding. 

Now, another option has been taken off the table. In the immediate aftermath of the City game, Wenger told Arsenal.com he did not yet know the severity of Gabriel’s injury:

"

We have not even made a diagnosis in the medical room with our doctors or physios yet. I can’t tell you more. He’s in pain. Let’s hope the pain is not a sign of bad news. The only thing we have to know now is how big the damage is with his ligament.

I’ve never seen an intelligent accident, they always look stupid. We have to take that. He played the ball 100 per cent and I think he rolled his ankle, but I don’t know how it happened. It’s part of our game.

...

Maybe he was a bit tired, I don’t know. Was his coordination a bit weaker, I don’t know. Was he locked in the grass with his studs… I have to speak to him. He’s just come out of a medical room and he’s not in a better state because he couldn’t even talk on the pitch. 

"

Wenger sounds exasperated. The truth is that even if he suspected that Gabriel faced a long layoff, he wouldn’t admit it publicly. Doing so would only weaken Arsenal’s position in the transfer market. Arsenal’s need for a new centre-back was already one of the worst-kept secrets in football.

After this latest setback, it’s even more pronounced. Selling clubs will feel they can charge Arsenal over the odds, safe in the knowledge that the Gunners are in a desperate situation.

Nils Petter Nilsson/Ombrello/Getty Images

Nevertheless, they must surely now enter the market. Wenger spoke to Arsenal.com after the game about his desire to improve his defensive options:

"

I’ve said many times that we are in the market. Of course it’s not an easy market for us. Let’s hope we have good news from Gabriel. Laurent Koscielny is back in training [on Monday] but he might be short for next week. If Gabriel is out, Per Mertesacker is out and Koscielny not ready—that’s a lot of players. 

"

On the evidence of this game, Holding is not yet ready to be facing this calibre of opposition week in and week out. Why would he be? This is a player who was relegated from the Championship last season with Bolton. Expecting him to immediately be ready for the challenge of elite opponents would be ridiculous. 

Arsenal need someone with Mertesacker’s seniority and Gabriel’s athleticism. They need a player who can come straight into the side and plug the yawning gap at the heart of the back four. 

Nils Petter Nilsson/Ombrello/Getty Images

If they cannot find a new player this week, Wenger may be forced to throw Koscielny straight back into the fray.

Considering that he is only due to return to training on Monday, that would be an enormous risk. If he were to suffer a setback that left him confined to the sidelines with Mertesacker and Gabriel, it could potentially derail Arsenal’s entire season. Wenger must be cautious with his best defender.

Wenger now needs a centre-back more than any other position. As reported by the Mirror's Ben Burrows, he has spent most of the summer hunting for a striker, but that search can no longer be the top priority.

Arsenal do at least have senior options in attack. Against City, Wenger chose Alexis Sanchez to lead the line. Although his best football at Arsenal has been played from a deeper role, his performance as the lone striker was encouraging.

On the flanks, Arsenal have plenty of options. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joel Campbell, Theo Walcott and Alex Iwobi have all enjoyed good pre-seasons.

The evolution of Iwobi is particularly intriguing—he scored an excellent goal against City, cutting in from the left flank to fire powerfully into the far corner.

Nils Petter Nilsson/Ombrello/Getty Images

Sometimes when a young player breaks into the first team, they carry themselves timidly. That has never been the case with Iwobi, who took to top-flight football like the proverbial duck to water. His performances this summer suggest he feels very much at home at this level. There is a growing conviction to his play, and he appears set to play a major part in the first few games of the season. 

Arsenal may still require a centre-forward to flesh out their attacking options, but their need in defence is more immediate and urgent. 

All in all, this match was a strange occasion. It’s always somewhat strange to see Premier League teams facing off against each other in pre-season. It’s a sensation similar to peeking under the wrapping on Christmas Eve—it’s an illicit preview of something you shouldn’t really be allowed to see. It spoils the surprise. 

This felt like a Community Shield for last season’s nearly-men. Nevertheless, Arsenal should not avoid the obvious positive of picking up a win over a likely title rival.

However, if they want to be serious contenders in 2016/17, they must act fast to assuage their defensive crisis. A new arrival is the only sensible solution—it’s time for Wenger to open the chequebook again.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout 2016/17. Follow him on Twitter here.