Granted I didn’t watch the friendly last night but that doesn’t ring true to me. He was great last season and the season before. I think you can look at that left eight position, left back and keeper before Big Gabi becomes an issue.
Can’t agree fully, but I think it’s only a matter of time before he’s displaced in the starting XI, by Kiwior or someone else. Maybe not this season still.
The blunders aren’t even the biggest issue. It’s just the direction the whole team is moving under Arteta.
I don’t see him survivig in the starting XI even if he stops with the mistakes, his limitations on the ball are the issue. He’s decent, but going for the very top, trying to dominate everyone… I think we’ll go for someone who’s more capable on the ball eventually.
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We’ve got plenty of ball playing defenders. Ruben Dias is arguably the best centre back in the league - he’s good on the ball. Nothing special.
Compared to Zinny, Saliba and White, Gabriel is definitely weaker on the ball but he’s decent. I mean would anybody really rather see Timber and Saliba at CB or Kiwior and Saliba at CB?
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Gabriel is still our best defender. He makes mistakes, true. But from what we’ve seen, he’s been the most consistent. Yes, even ahead of Saliba.
Saliba is better in every aspekt of the game. Thinking otherwise is just being edgy.
He made a bunch of mistakes last season, Saliba and White were clear as our best defenders, but his potential is still fantastic.
Just work on reducing those mistakes, look at Xhaka’s evolution, if he does that he can be fantastic for us, he does good things in abundance the rest of the time on the pitch. I believe in him and Wiłly as a great duo.
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I don’t wanna back this but I have a feeling you may be right after a few months.
I don’t think he’s going to lose his place to Kiwior but it could become a reasonable contest. Kiwior is better on the ball but I don’t think he has the same physicality and ability to engage in last ditch defending and cover for others that Gabriel has shown. Maybe a horses for courses situation.
One thing that seems pretty clear to me is that Gabriel is at his best on the left side of the three man defensive line when we have the ball. Your choices are simpler there than in the middle and you have less responsibility. We need Saliba, White, or maybe Kiwior in the center of that trio.
If we’re going to invert the right fullback, it brings Gabby into the middle, which is an issue Arteta will need to figure out.
Will very likely be the one dropped to make way for Timber in the starting lineup. Very poor on the ball and at an age where he wont improve much in that department. Great squad player though.
I’d like to disagree but I can’t. He sticks out a lot now because the technical level of the team has improved so much.
In the first half it was really bad. Dude was treating the ball like time bomb, he was losing his shit on the ball under the tiniest pressure. White got a lot of time as a CB in preseason and late last season too.
I believe we haven’t seen a White-Saliba pairing yet but I wouldn’t mind seeing with Timber playing as RB and Zinchenko at LB.
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He is still the best out and out defender at the club. The most physical, the best at aerial duels and positionally is rarely in no man’s land. He gets caught out from time to time with indecision on the ball, but as a pure defender he is clear imo.
I don’t want any other partnership other than Saliba and Gabriel.
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Dealt with Haaland. Yes, he’s noticeably less able on the ball than our other starters today but we need his physicality.
Thank-you!! The Gabriel hate train is wild. He’s our best out and out defender, easily. Very easy to scapegoat him when he arguably has the most difficult job of our backline.
We dont hate him. He has outstanding physichal attributes. Fast, strong, good in the air. But when it comes to being in possesion and beating a press is is borderline useless.
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I’m one of his biggest fans but I can’t lie and say he hasn’t been struggling. Out of the back 4 today, he was the poorest. I do hope he steps up though.
Easy now with Zinchenko and his competition being Kiwior and Tomiyasu. Once Zinchenko comes back though, him and White might have to fight it out for a place besides Saliba.
I don’t agree. Even from the pure defending standpoint he’s far from flawless, and there’s not too much difference there between him and Saliba and White imo, except he’s stronger than White - that’s all.
I just can’t erase from my memory how he acted when Haaland and other City players were running at him in that last league game.
And that’s just on top of other quite many (looking from elite defensive standard) defensive blunders.
Yeah, not sure I’d say he’s our best out and out defender
Sometimes people can go too far whether with the criticism or praise, truth may be somewhere in the middle
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Agree, as someone who has never been super high on him.
His position is secure, there isn’t another leftfooted Saliba type defender out there. I’m curious to see his performances at CL level
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This right/left footed thing is becoming a bit irrelevant though once you’re really good with the ball. Case in point Timber playing LB and Kiwior RCB.
Do you think Saliba would struggle if he played LCB(that’s where he played for Nice)?
Argue with Arteta about it, he seems insistent on the concept for his first choice 11