Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been told he needs to deal with Gabriel Magalhaes who always has an error in him.
Pundit John Giles was speaking on The Stand with Eamon Dunphy off the back of Arsenal’s win over Everton on Sunday.
It ended up being a narrow contest with Leandro Trossard’s fantastic strike proving to be the difference.
The match has almost been overshadowed by talk about Mikel Arteta’s team selection.
He rotated Aaron Ramsdale out of the side for new signing David Raya, while another new addition Kai Havertz dropped out of the team.
There was also the decision made up top with Eddie Nketiah given the nod over Gabriel Jesus despite his return to fitness.
The only area of the pitch where there was no change was in defence.
After a good performance against Manchester United, Arteta stuck with the back four that played so well throughout last season.
However, Mikel Arteta has been told to keep an eye on Gabriel Magalhaes as he can always make a big mistake.
He’s yet to do that this season and one split-second decision he made during his last appearance at The Emirates ultimately won his side the match.
Arteta to keep an eye on Arsenal defender Gabriel
Speaking about Arteta’s team, Giles said: “I think they can get better. They have a fairly young team and I think he’s [Mikel Arteta] getting better with them every year, they just need that breakthrough.
“They’ve got [Gabriel] Jesus back in again now, he’s a top-class player and finisher for them.
“But they have one or two players at the back, I think Gabriel can be a bit of a nuisance, he’s a bit headstrong.
“I know he gets stuck in but he does a few silly things as well so they definitely have to get that right.”
The £27m defender appeared to lose his place in the side at the start of the season, with Jurrien Timber and Thomas Partey preferred as part of the back line.
Injury and suspension eventually forced Arteta to select Gabriel in Arsenal’s back line and so far, he’s done very well.
His decision to delay his run to play Alejandro Garnacho offline turned out to be inspiring.
However, his body check on Beto that earned him a booking on Sunday gave Everton a rare opportunity to fire the ball into the box from a set piece which was always going to be their biggest threat.
It earned Gabriel a return to the Brazil squad and he finally made his debut last week.
Arteta has been told he can’t drop the centre-back again and although Giles thinks he always has a mistake in him, he appears to be the perfect foil for William Saliba in defence.
The post ‘A nuisance’: Mikel Arteta has to deal with £27m Arsenal man who keeps doing ‘silly things’ – pundit appeared first on The Boot Room.
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