The £22m signing of 22 year old brazilian cb Gabriel is said to be announced within a week. In this thread I will discuss what this signing will bring to Arsenal. (Both graphs below are from TalkSport).

Gabriel is a modern ball-playing defender. The young brazilian is comfortable with the ball, and likes to play the ball long, into the half-space (similar to Luiz). This helped getting the best out of Lilles rapid front line and will have a similar effect with Auba and Pépé.

The graph below really highlights this passing ability. Here, every central defender (u 24yrs old) from Europes top 5 leagues with at least 1000 mins played is taken into consideration. Gabriel is averaging 10.12 passes to the final third p.90 and 11.46 progressive passes p.90.

Gabriel is also quite aggressive. He is only averaging 5.22 defensive duels and 5.26 aerial duels p.90, but has a success rate of 64.34% and 69.23% respectively. No current Arsenal cb wins more duels pr 90.

Furthermore, Gabriel only commits .8 fouls per 90, .1 less than both Luiz and Mustafi, and .2 less than Sokratis. This is despite being an aggressive and active defender. He is also dribbled past less per 90 than the three mentioned above. (WhoScored)

Now, the partnership with Saliba is really something to look forward two. They´re both fast, allowing us to play a higher defensive line. Gabriel is left footed and therefore a natural LCB, something that is really hard to come by in football.

Together, they an average age of only 20.5 years. This signing could potentially create one of the best CB pairings in Europe for the next 10-12 years.

Gabriel is a very agile player who understand and covers space really well. This agility allows him to defend effectively against forwards who look to turn quickly and/or likes to dribble. This ability allows him to also defend the wide area, allowing Tierney to roam further UTP.

At only £22m, Gabriel looks to be an absolute bargain. The 22 year old has only missed 9 days through injuries throughout his entire career, making it a pretty safe transfer as well. No brainer if you ask me.

End of thread. Feedback is really appreciated, as this is the first time I make a thread like this. Likes and rts also appreciated, but not at all necessary. Thanks for reading :) Check out this video if you want to see Gabriel in action