The lessons Gabriel learnt on his way to the top
OUR BRAZILIAN DEFENDER ON HIS JOURNEY TO BECOMING ONE OF THE BEST CENTRE-BACKS IN THE WORLD
“I know why I’m where I am today – it’s because I learned a lot along the way.”
That’s Gabriel’s own assessment of the incredible progress he has made in his career to date. A career that saw him move from Brazilian second-tier club Avai to Ligue 1 side Lille as a teenager, then join us in 2020, and since go on to become one of the top-rated central defenders in world football.
Now 27, the big Brazilian looks to be at the peak of his powers, but he says he’s learning all the time – still desperate to improve every aspect of his game. Whether he’s shutting down opposition strikers with defensive partner William Saliba, or getting on the end of another dangerous set-piece delivery, Big Gabi shows his value to the team week in, week out.
Nothing has come easily for the Sao Paulo-born defender though, and he says the first lessons he learned in the sport have been fundamental to everything that has followed since.
“I learnt very early the value of competing and the importance of being a competitor,” he begins. “Being a footballer has always been a dream for me and I learned from the beginning that you need to work very hard if you want your dream to come true. The first lesson I learned was that you have to improve every day as a footballer if you want to be a success.”
Gabi says that his big influences were always his family, especially his dad in the early days.
“He would drive me every day to training, and sometimes that could be a long drive! He was working too, but would still drive me every day so I could get to practice. At that moment in my life it was very important to me.”
Soon it was time for young Gabi to leave Brazil in pursuit of his footballing dream. Europe came calling, specifically Lille in the top-flight of French football.
“I was 18 or 19 when I moved to France,” he explains, “At first I came on my own, but then my mum and dad came over as well. I joined Lille and I learned French very quickly because there weren’t many Portuguese speakers there – I think only one or two others in the squad – so it was an important time for me. I couldn't speak the language, it was a completely new place, but the other players all helped me a lot.
“I learnt a lot about myself at that time. I lived in an apartment on my own so I had to do everything for myself for the first time. It was a big shock! The main thing though was the language, everywhere I went I used Google Translate, so it was difficult. Looking back now though it was a good moment. It’s why I’m where I am today, because of what I learned.”
His learning process included a short loan spell in Croatia. Before breaking into the side at Lille, he had a brief loan with Troyes, playing just once in the league, then was on the move again, this time with Dinamo Zagreb. He played just once for their first team towards the end of the 2017/18 campaign, but also played for their reserves and youth team – including against Arsenal in an U23 Premier League International Tournament.
“That was not too difficult in Croatia, because there were a few people who could speak Portuguese,” he reflects. “I could speak French as well with some of the players, so the language was OK. What I found difficult there was it was very, very, very cold! It was minus 20, something like that, but really I enjoyed my time there and l liked it at Dinamo.
“But the football was very different to what I had been playing. The games were a bit quieter, not as many fans in the stadiums, and the pitches as well were a bit different to what I was playing on in France.”
"I learnt very early the value of competing and the importance of being a competitor"
Back at Lille for the start of the 2018/19 season, Big Gabi found his chances were limited. Not getting selected in the team (he played just one minute in Ligue 1 in the first six months of the campaign) and already with two loan spells behind him, he started to have second thoughts about his move to France. Instead of quitting though, he called upon that natural work-ethic, and redoubled his efforts in training.
Then, almost overnight, everything changed. Lille were facing Guingamp in the league on February 10, 2019 – and for the first time, Gabi was named in the starting line-up. It was to be the start of something huge, as Gabi explains. “My big year came in 2019, just before I joined Arsenal.
“I jumped up, I started to play every game for Lille, and my mentality changed. That was the moment when I started to enjoy my life more. I got in the team and I stayed there, then the next season I was playing in the Champions League as well, and my confidence went up for sure.
“When I arrived at Lille, I wasn’t getting many opportunities to play. It was hard and I wanted to go back to Brazil. But the sporting director at Lille helped me a lot, he said they wanted me to stay and I would get my chance.
“So I worked hard every single day to improve. Then when I got my first opportunity, I took it, and I stayed in the team from then. I just needed the chance to show what I could do. I put in my mind the thought that it could be my last chance to play, and without that opportunity it’s impossible.
“You cannot prove how good you are. Then one day before the game, they came to me and said I would start, and I did very well. We won 2-0, I did well then I played every single game.”
It was a similar story – albeit without the bedding-in period – when he came to north London. In September 2020 – a couple of days after we beat Liverpool behind closed doors at Wembley to lift the Community Shield – Mikel Arteta made Gabriel his first signing as Arsenal boss (not including loans and free transfers). Within two weeks, he was in the starting lineup for our opening Premier League fixture of the season, away to Fulham.
He lined up in the centre of a back three, with Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney either side of him, and Hector Bellerin and Ainsley Maitland-Niles at wing-back. Of the 14 players who played that day, only Gabi and Tierney are still at the club.
We had ended the previous season with the FA Cup, but finished eighth in the league, Arteta was only half a year into the job and games were still being played behind closed doors amid the pandemic. It’s fair to say Gabi was thrown in at the deep end.
Our No. 6, however, relished it: “When I came to Arsenal, the club wasn’t in a good moment really, compared to now, so I knew it was a big challenge for me and for my family. Again, I didn’t expect that I would be starting that first game, I had only had four days training with the team, then I was playing in the Premier League!
“Just a few sessions, to be in the starting XI was amazing for me. But for sure the players here made it easy for me. The Brazilian players, the Spanish speakers as well, they helped me a lot. They said to me ‘you know why you are here, so enjoy it and play your game.’ They told me to enjoy the moment and I scored as well, so it was a perfect start for me.”
He’s barely looked back from that moment. He made his 200th appearance for us against Girona – only the third player in the squad to reach the landmark after Bukayo Saka and namesake Martinelli. So how different a player does he think he is now, with that weight of experience under his belt?
“I think I’m a very, very different player now! I feel like I’ve improved a lot, because the coaches and the other players here have helped me every single day. It’s been unbelievable and I think a lot of things in my life have changed. Now I play every single game and I’m so happy to be part of this club and the Arsenal family.
“I think I’ve changed how I defend now, how I love to defend. I don’t know if you can just pick one thing that’s changed, but I think I have improved in different ways since I joined Arsenal.”
"I’m so happy to be part of this club and the Arsenal family"
After scoring on his debut against Fulham, the goals have become commonplace for the defender – 20 in his first 200 outings – another example of hard work producing results. “Yes, for sure. The strikers work on it mainly of course but I work on it as well in training, because I didn’t used to score much – not like I do now.
"It’s not only because of me though, it’s everyone on the pitch. We are a team so we need to work together. It’s not just the person who delivered the ball into the box or me scoring, no it’s everyone doing their job, working together to create the chances.
“I like to be in the box when we are attacking, but also I love defending too. The moment I make a good tackle in the area, I go to the same place in my head as when I score a goal, so of course I will celebrate. It’s good to be like that I think.”
With nearly 10 years’ experience and footballing education behind him in Europe, and given his incredible physical attributes on the pitch, it’s tempting to say his style of play is even more European than traditionally Brazilian. Just don’t suggest that to Gabi himself!
“No, no! I’m Brazilian! Completely!" laughs the man who has 13 caps for his national team.
But one thing that’s not up for debate, is the aura he has built up over the past few years in the Premier League. Named in the PFA Team of the Season last year, does he think his growing reputation helps him on the pitch?
“I think so, I hope so!” he smiles. “I play against some strikers now and afterwards they say: ‘you are so strong now, you and Saliba are so good together’ and things like that, so it’s good to hear.
"That’s what we are aiming for on the pitch, we want to keep improving and we want to win trophies.”
Some of Gabi’s best performances lately have come in the bigger games – he’s been named player-of-the-match in each of the past three north London derbies, and he netted a crucial goal against Manchester City earlier in the season. He admits he savours the big occasions and challenges.
“Yes it makes me comfortable, because I need to put myself in the best position and the best shape. I need to show up, to be present in those moments. If I’m playing against Haaland for example, I’m not going to be quiet because I know how good he is – no, I need to be there, put myself at an even higher level and try to win every duel.”
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