COMMENT: The Brazilian defender plugs a clear gap in the Gunners squad, but his Yellow Submarine team-mate is arguably the better player
Who is responsible for slipping a little something into Arsene Wenger’s coffee these past few weeks? The Professor has stunned Arsenal fans with some logical decision-making. After producing their most accomplished away performance in years against Manchester City on Sunday, the club are set to reinforce a long-standing weak area of the team by acquiring Villarreal defender Gabriel.
The impressive centre-back has been identified as the Gunners’ prime transfer target, and on the surface the approach appears to be shrewd. The Brazilian has been an ever-present in La Liga as part of a back line that has conceded just 17 goals – only Barcelona and Real Madrid have a superior record. The 24-year-old is yet another talent to emerge from Villarreal’s network of knowledge and target identification in South America, one that in the past decade has unveiled the likes of Juliano Belletti, Marcos Senna and Diego Godin.
More recently, Swansea’s Jefferson Montero and current starlet Luciano Vietto have emerged and Gabriel, brought in for just €3.5 million from Vitorio in the summer of 2013, has proved to be another inspired piece of business.
But are Arsenal shopping for the wrong defender? Wenger's scouts regularly attend matches at El Madrigal, so Gabriel's team-mate Mateo Musacchio will be more than well-known to them, but on many levels the man referred to by coach Marcelino as ‘a momentous player’ seems the more attractive option.
Arriving in Spain as an 18-year-old in 2009, Musacchio has matured into one of the most accomplished centre-backs in a European market suffering from a dearth of aptitude in that department. No-one in Spain made more interceptions than him in 2013-14 and, while both he and Gabriel are comfortable in possession and can be uncompromising in the tackle, Musacchio’s previous proficiency playing in central midfield sets him apart with the ball at his feet.
Furthermore, he has featured in over 180 games for Villarreal and, at the same age as Gabriel, has leadership qualities and experience unmatched by his Latin American compatriot. Musacchio also holds an Italian passport and will not suffer from the regulatory issues that Gabriel could bring – the Brazilian has neither featured enough for his national side to gain an automatic work permit, nor has he lived in Spain long enough to be granted citizenship.
It may be a case of out of sight, out of mind as far as Arsenal are concerned. The Argentine has missed much of this season with a thigh injury, starting just five league matches, while Gabriel has thrived in his absence, his all-round game developng rapidly in that period.
It might also be the case that Arsenal don't want to become embroiled in a complex ownership situation. Tottenham moved for Musacchio last summer but Villarreal, former club River Plate and his management agency all hold respective shares in his sporting rights. The Spanish club were hopeful of securing a sizeable fee but after protracted negotiations a deal couldn’t be reached. It’s clear that Musacchio would cost sizeably more to acquire than Gabriel, who Arsenal believe will be sold for in the region of €10m. However, Villarreal are currently debt-free and are keen to hold out for his buyout clause, which is set at €20m.
Ultimately, it comes down to Wenger, and what he is looking for. He clearly sees Gabriel as cover for his first-choice pairing of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, and given his vocal desire to move to England, feels that he is in a strong negotiating position to pressurise Villarreal into meeting a more modest valuation.
But Mertesacker is 30 and Koscielny 29. Whilst not veterans they are no longer in their prime, with the former having already squeezed 550 games into his career. Some foresight is required here – choose a back-up, and a very good one at that, or a ready-made, potentially world class centre-half in Musacchio, even if it means making more of a statement with the transfer fee?
The prudence administered while paying off the Emirates Stadium is well and truly over, as the purchases of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez made clear. A willingness to spend expansively in defence would be a statement that Arsenal are serious – and that disciplined defending like the kind seen at the Etihad last weekend is here to stay.
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