Who would you have alongside Koscielny ? Gabriel or Mertesacker. We've got some games coming up against pacey forwards and teams that like to break quickly. I thought Mertesacker was badly exposed against Chelsea, not just for the sending off, but a couple of times before that too. I know some of that is down to the midfield shielding (or lack of it at times) and perhaps with Coquelin back in the team, the problem will be addressed. I like Mertesacker a lot and I think he has brilliant positioning, which usually makes up for his lack of pace. He's also great in the air and a very good tackler, but Mertesacker is SLOW and it's a weakness that teams can exploit. Gabriel has done well when he's come in and he has pace in abundance. He's also a tough tackler, good in the air and positionally sound, although I don't think he's as calm and considered as Mert and does look prone to making errors and rash tackles at times. But overall I've been very impressed with him. Is it time for him to step up and make that CB position his own ?
They are both good, but if our midfield leaves our CB's as exposed as our CM's did on Sunday then both will get exposed, with the almighty Coq coming back, Mert won't get as exposed as much as he was when Flamini was attempting to play DM, the Mert Kos axis is a fine one, especially with Coquelin playing DM.
Gabriel for me. Allows us to push higher up the field and dominate the ball without being overly worried about being hit on the break because we'll have two centre-backs that have great recovery pace. We may be vulnerable in terms of height, but Koscielny and Gabriel are both quite combative in the air.
Gabriel for me too. I love his no nonsense defending. He has no problem of kicking the ball to row Z in the stadium or telling of someone who is faking an injury. I think we need someone like that in the team. Slightly crazy basically.
Bollocks it would. Each time they've played together, they've actually performed well. The only way it would fail is if we have a rash defender that mistimes tackles and can't anticipate very well. Vermaelen was one of these defenders. Gabriel is not.
I don't think I've seen enough of Gabriel in all situations to make a solid judgement. However the BFG is coming towards the end of a long and illustrious career and is slowing up. His suspension now gives a further opportunity for Gabriel to show the world how good he really is. I hope he takes it.
I don't hugely like Gabriel, think he's a bit of a liability. From what I've seen I view him as a lesser version of Koscielny. Both like a gamble and when it works it's terrific but occasionally they'll be caught out. I like having someone alongside Koscielny who's a bit more level headed, be it Per or whoever. I'm not adverse to finding a new CB but I'd rather it was a no nonsense type player like Vidic/Terry and so forth. I think given a season Gabriel will improve but I just see him as too rash at the moment.
I think Sanj makes a very good point here, our defensive problems have stemmed from the lack of defensive cover/awareness from the Flamini/Ramsey partnership. There is nothing wrong with big Mert and his partnership with Kos has worked well, but when you leave big spaces between defense and midfield then you'll have a big problem, regardless of defensive partnerships.
It's difficult to judge for me as I haven't seen enough of Gabriel to make a sound decision - he has shown himself to be a good defender but is prone to mistakes and to being a bit rash. I assume some of these would be ironed out by a run in the team but who knows. On the one hand Per is the perfect foil for Kos, especially with Kos' habit of making runs up field with the ball and his dive in tackling (which is great and has saved us on more than once) and Kos and Per have developed a great partnership. Per is great in the air as well and (usually, but not always) Per has great positioning. However his lack of pace is a serious weakness. Gabriel looks very good, is strong, fast and will enable us to play a higher line, is fresh but whether his rashness can be controlled and he can develop a partnership with Kos? It's a good time to try I suppose.
Kos was as much of a liability when he joined us so there's plenty of time for him to develop. You're right though, the preoblem with CB's is getting that balance right. IMO the hardest positions to get right.
Why would it be a disaster ? I wondered about this too, but concluded that it was simply because Kos and Verm never really clicked, not because they were similar players. Personally I think it's an assumption to think they they would be a disaster because Kos and Verm were, but I'm interested to hear why you think it would be.
I'm not a believer in the two smaller ball playing CB's playing together. Particularly in the Premierleague. Both Koscielny and Gabriel like to come forward press high and attempt to win the ball further up the pitch. Vermaelen and Koscielny was a disaster for this exact reason. Despite his lack of pace and athleticsm, Mertesacker brings many qualities to the Arsenal back four that may go unnoticed. He is better in the air than Kos, he sits deep and manages the players around him, he also rarely misplaces a pass. Mertesacker may not be flashy and exciting but he is the sturdy foundation that Arsenal need.
Oops I forgot that I meant to echo Sanj and the others about the hugely negative effect our lack of control in midfield has had on our defence/cb's and their performance. Instead of steading the ship, offering protection and breaking up play, ours have lost the ball in dangerous positions, been pulled out of position, and allowed the opposition to pick their passes behind our defence. (except for a few notable games). Hopefully Elneny is a good signing and hits the ground running, but Coq should help with this. It's no surprise that Wenger has looked a little lost without his coq and since his coq has been out of action people have been questioning whether Wenger has the balls to carry on at the club...
