‘I am very impressed’, ‘credit to him’: Mikel Arteta blown away by 22-year-old Arsenal ace

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has waxed lyrical about Gunners defender Gabriel Magalhaes following his latest impressive display for the Emirates Stadium side.

On Sunday, Arsenal ran out 2-1 winners over Sheffield United in their Premier League clash in North London, with Bukayo Saka and Nicolas Pepe on the scoresheet for the hosts.

Saka opened the scoring on 61 minutes with a header from Hector Bellerin’s cross, and just three minutes later, Pepe – on as a substitute – fired low into the corner following a marauding run.

Although Sheff Utd struck back six minutes of time, Arsenal held on for all three points, putting them fourth in the Premier League table come the end of Sunday’s action.

Gabriel, who joined Arsenal this summer from Lille in a reported £27million move, put in another solid display, save for one uncharacteristically under-hit pass.

The 22-year-old was a calm presence on the ball, made some strong interventions and took no chances after the Blades had halved the deficit, helping the Gunners see the game out.

When asked by Football London how impressed he was by Gabriel, Arteta replied: “I am very impressed. I have always said in this league one of the most difficult positions to play is centre-back.

“You get challenged, exposed many times and tested many times for 96 minutes. I saw on the first day he has a lot of personality, he has big courage to play.

“He’s very secure, very stable as well mentally throughout the game and I think he has the physical and technical attributes to adapt very well to the league.

“That’s why we signed him but credit to him because in this short space of time that’s a big thing.”

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Arsenal’s defence was a cause for concern last season but Gabriel’s arrival has helped to shore the back line up nicely, especially impressive given how quickly he’s hit the ground running.

When new signings arrive from a league outside the Premier League, particularly when they’re young, they can sometimes need some time to get used to the style of football, but Gabriel is delivering right away.