Friday, March 29, 2024

Like A Rock: Gabriel’s Stats v Everton

Arsenal responded to a mishap in midweek with a solid performance against Everton in the Premier League, where goals from Olivier Giroud and Tomas Rosicky saw the Gunners rise into third. However, it was a largely defensive display and one man, making his first start in the Premier League, was terrific.

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WhoScored Rating: 8.25

Gabriel Paulista came into the side for his first Premier League start, replacing Per Mertsaker, and overall, he impressed. There was an early blip where he let the ball bounce, allowing Romelu Lukaku through on goal, but David Ospina was there to sweep up the danger.

Only Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was given a higher rating that Gabriel Paulista for this game, in a match where he redeemed himself for an earlier error with a fantastic last ditch tackle on Lukaku- who looked certain to score.

His passing was sublime, with an 86% pass success, whilst his performance at the back was superb. He may have only won half of his tackles but, against a very strong Lukaku, he won 67% of his aerial duels. On top of this, he made six interceptions, 10 clearances and just one foul.

It’s still early days for the young Brazilian but if he continues at this rate, then he is set for a bright future at the Emirates.

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