Gabriel Magalhaes now ‘draws attention’ in Brazil for failing to do something he excels at for Arsenal

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Gabriel Magalhaes has been one of Arsenal’s best players this season, and he is shining for club and country.

The centre-back has continued to improve year on year at Arsenal, and he has formed arguably the best defensive partnership in Europe alongside William Saliba.

Gabriel has been a menace in the air in both boxes, with the Brazilian scoring away at Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City from set-pieces, whilst he is becoming unbeatable defensively.

The 26-year-old continued his fine form as he delivered a masterclass for Brazil in their victory over Chile, as Gabriel won 100% of his aerial duels as Brazil’s highest-rated player.

However, despite his imperious display, Gabriel has been criticised in Brazil for one aspect of his performance, which is certainly not a problem when it comes to his performances at Arsenal.

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Arsenal star Gabriel criticised for passing despite Brazil victory

Gabriel completed 83 of his 95 attempted passes against Chile, with 10 of these passes reaching the final third, whilst he also completed 11 of 14 long balls.

Despite this, Brazilian outlet GE Globo claimed that Gabriel did not play the ball with the same forward intention as he normally does for Arsenal.

“A little more demanding than his teammate in the Chilean attack, but with a performance at the same level. He draws attention for attempting fewer vertical moves with the ball than he does at Arsenal,” they stated of Gabriel as they gave him a 6/10 match rating.

This is surprising given Gabriel’s statistics from the game, and the defender clearly does not receive enough praise for his ability on the ball.

Gabriel Magalhaes has improved on the ball

The perception of Gabriel and Saliba as a partnership is that Saliba is the composed figure when it comes to passing out the back, whilst Gabriel is the rugged, old-school defensive rock.

However, Gabriel is also exceptional on the ball. He showed against Chile that he can distribute the ball further up the pitch well, and this is a part of his game which has improved significantly in recent years.

Gabriel has been highlighted in Brazil for not playing enough vertical passes, but he made significantly more long balls and passes into the final third than his partner Marquinhos, and this was a much higher total than the Arsenal defender managed against Southampton before the International break.