When the transfer deadline was completed back in the summer and we ended up signing Welbeck a lot of fans were pissed off. Obviously another striker was needed given Giroud had suffered a long term injury and Sanogo, well was still Sanogo. We had signed an underperforming Manchester United star who was English most importantly and was young enough for the belief that he could only improve to be present. But this was not the problem. The problem was not with the quality of the signing or the signing himself, the problem was that yet another season we ignored one pressing need- A DM. Also given that we sold Vermaelen (still do not know why people say we did not replace him, he never would have played anyways) and Sagna had left at the end of his contract, Sagna was fantastic at CB every time he played there for us. We did replace Sagna to an extent with Debuchy, an experienced RB who had also replaced Sagna in the national team. But Sagna was more or less our 4th choice CB last season. So replacing him with Debuchy would not just suffice. We did sign another defender to replace Vermaelen in the form of Chambers who Arsene sees as a future CB. But that was 2 CBs who are accustomed to the position and one who our manager felt could do a job, he had never played there in a senior game, so it always was a risk. A player like that as a 4th choice CB? That should be OK but as a 3rd choice would be a strict no. None the less we went into the season that way with Monreal being considered as a person to fill the CB boots in case of an emergency situation. Situation turned for the worse when Koscielny ended up being injured for an Achilles problem which realy destroyed us as a team. All sorts of defensive reshuffles due to injuries saw us even play Debuchy as CB (he impressed there as well). Finally the manager after all the troubles understood the need for a more experienced and natural CB. Better late than never. We were linked to all sorts of CB's come January 1st. Van Dijk, Winston Reid, Loic Perrin and now finally Gabriel Paulista.
So who is this Gabriel Paulista? Before looking at him let us look at the people reporting this news of his imminent arrival. Jose Ramon De La Morena (El Larguero - CADENA SER) has confirmed that Gabriel Paulista is going to Arsenal for €20m. Well CADENA SER were the outlet to first report Ozil to us and Herrera to United. Then Rob Draper of Daily Mail also told we were close and the ever reliable Jeremy Wilson also spoke about a deal being arranged. The player himself was quoted telling "Whether I go to Arsenal or stay at Villarreal, I won’t lose my head. I’m very calm. My head is at Villarreal and I’m very focused. My agent is working on making sure I continue being calm.” So our interest like what we had in Perrin is there. So now to the question who is Gabriel Paulista? Paulista is a Brazilian centre back, albeit not a typical one! Fortunately he was not part of the Brazil World Cup squad that got destroyed by Germany. But the question arises if he could not be a part of a defence in shambles is it worth targeting him? For that I cannot really justify much, but hey in International football Sakho gets ahead of Koscielny so it's fair to say we should not judge by that.
Key to Villarreal's form has been a solid defensive platform from which to launch their rapier counter-attacks. Only Barcelona and Real Madrid have conceded fewer goals than Villarreal this season (tied on 17 with Valencia and Sevilla), and Paulista has been a crucial component of that miserly back line. Also he is a player who can play all across the backline as a LB or RB even. He has even played as part of a 3 man defence and has not looked out of place. Paulista has won the Brazilian CB of the year on 2 occasions: 2012,13 also called Campeonato Baiano best central defender: 2012, 2013. But before looking at anything else let us see what type of a player he is.
ANOTHER KOSCIELNY?
Have we not been in this position before? A CB we did not know arriving for 10 million and now seemingly one of the best CBs in the league? Well yes Koscielny. To start with Paulista is 1.87 m in height and Koscielny is 1.86 m. Paulista weighs 72 kgs and Lolo 74 kgs. Paulista's style of play is so similar to Koscielny that at times I pondered if I am actually watching Koscielny play when I watched Paulista play. The 2 are so similar that when you look at the stats below it might actually shock you.
So who is this Gabriel Paulista? Before looking at him let us look at the people reporting this news of his imminent arrival. Jose Ramon De La Morena (El Larguero - CADENA SER) has confirmed that Gabriel Paulista is going to Arsenal for €20m. Well CADENA SER were the outlet to first report Ozil to us and Herrera to United. Then Rob Draper of Daily Mail also told we were close and the ever reliable Jeremy Wilson also spoke about a deal being arranged. The player himself was quoted telling "Whether I go to Arsenal or stay at Villarreal, I won’t lose my head. I’m very calm. My head is at Villarreal and I’m very focused. My agent is working on making sure I continue being calm.” So our interest like what we had in Perrin is there. So now to the question who is Gabriel Paulista? Paulista is a Brazilian centre back, albeit not a typical one! Fortunately he was not part of the Brazil World Cup squad that got destroyed by Germany. But the question arises if he could not be a part of a defence in shambles is it worth targeting him? For that I cannot really justify much, but hey in International football Sakho gets ahead of Koscielny so it's fair to say we should not judge by that.
Key to Villarreal's form has been a solid defensive platform from which to launch their rapier counter-attacks. Only Barcelona and Real Madrid have conceded fewer goals than Villarreal this season (tied on 17 with Valencia and Sevilla), and Paulista has been a crucial component of that miserly back line. Also he is a player who can play all across the backline as a LB or RB even. He has even played as part of a 3 man defence and has not looked out of place. Paulista has won the Brazilian CB of the year on 2 occasions: 2012,13 also called Campeonato Baiano best central defender: 2012, 2013. But before looking at anything else let us see what type of a player he is.
ANOTHER KOSCIELNY?
Have we not been in this position before? A CB we did not know arriving for 10 million and now seemingly one of the best CBs in the league? Well yes Koscielny. To start with Paulista is 1.87 m in height and Koscielny is 1.86 m. Paulista weighs 72 kgs and Lolo 74 kgs. Paulista's style of play is so similar to Koscielny that at times I pondered if I am actually watching Koscielny play when I watched Paulista play. The 2 are so similar that when you look at the stats below it might actually shock you.
Pass completion more or less the same, tackles won more or less the same, interceptions and blocks almost the exact same thing. The only difference is aerially and that is because the La Liga is less intense physically in comparison with the Premier League. I think most of you who have not seen him play have an idea about the type of player he is. He like Koscielny uses his pace and reading of the game to make some of those wonderful interceptions and last ditch tackles. Villareal like Arsenal like to build from the back, so he is used to that style of play. The only advantage he has over Koscielny is with the fact he like Cazorla is ambidextrous. He is equally adept with both feet. Hence he is comfortable either side of defence. Although not very heard of Paulista comes at a price. He has a release clause of 20 million Euros and Villareal are not going to let him go for cheap. Add that to the fact that since he has never been capped for Brazil and does not have a EU passport he may pose difficult to sign. But it does seem that the club is quietly confident that they can sign him on a "special talent" Visa. This is a player who is 24 and has time to not just start playing now but also as a long term replacement in our defence. We have not confirmed him as our player. Far from it. But this is a player who if he lives upto his potential could just become a world class player. Hopefully with us. Another article about him has been written by my friend Jon Shay. Please have a read! Hopefully we do get him to cover up our defence. What do you think? Please leave a comment.