- Age: 24
- Appearances: 5
- Goals: 0
- Assists: 1
- Fresh Arsenal Season Rating: 7.5
Moment of the Season: The moment he can thank the Arsenal for, as Gabriel got his first international call-up to the Brazil team on 21st March.
Current Value: £10million
Potential Value: £20million
Gabriel Paulista joined Arsenal during the 2015 January transfer window, signing for £11.2million after an emotional farewell with Spanish side, Villarreal. He initially linked up in training but needed to work on fitness and agility in order to be ready to feature at a competitive nature in English football.
Although he only has five appearances in an Arsenal shirt, Gabriel has discovered himself as exactly what Arsenal fans were looking for. The Brazilian came into the side knowing he would be an understudy to both Koscielny and Mertesacker, but that wasn’t going to stop his determination.
Gabriel played his first competitive game as Arsenal beat Middlesborough 2-0 to advance to the next round of the FA Cup. Manager Arsene Wenger was concerned that the defender would struggle out on the pitch due to language difficulties, but the 24-year-old learnt the vital defensive words in English beforehand.
At such a young age, Gabriel already looks like a mature defender from what we have seen, and Wenger has more than likely brought him in to replace Mertesacker in the next three years. Gabriel definitely has a chance to worm his way into the starting eleven next season, and that can be his only target for a player that is still getting used to being a Gunner.