The Arsenal manager highlighted an instinctive moment of leadership from Gabriel after Marli Salmon made a mistake during Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup win.
Mikel Arteta says Gabriel showed the kind of leadership that “you cannot coach” when he immediately went to support Marli Salmon during Arsenal’s 4-2 win over Ipswich Town.
Salmon was one of the academy players trusted from the start at Portman Road as Arteta made nine changes, with the youngster lining up alongside Gabriel in central defence.
One first-half moment caught Arteta’s attention. Salmon slipped when looking to play a ball cleared by Ipswich's goalkeeper, leaving space behind him that the Tractor Boys pushed into whilst counter attacking. The attack results in Gabriel making a last-ditch tackle, sending the ball out for a corner.
After making the tackle, Gabriel made his way across to Salmon, high-fived him and offered some immediate encouragement. It lasted only a few seconds, but Arteta had clearly noticed it from the touchline.
“You cannot coach that,” Arteta said ahead of Saturday’s trip to Brighton. “I think that’s you have it or you don’t, because it’s a split of a second. It’s just a very emotional reaction when you are in the middle of the game.
“And I absolutely loved it because we all been there and just the encouragement, the confidence that it gives to a 17-year-old to go again and deliver in the next action. It’s huge.”
Arsenal have been willing to use some of their youngest players in senior football this season, and Ipswich was another example. Max Dowman scored twice on the night, while Salmon was given responsibility in a defence that still included the experience of Gabriel.
That balance is important when Arteta uses players who are still learning what senior football demands. Salmon did not need the game stopped, or the mistake turned into a major incident. Gabriel recognised the moment, spoke to him and the match carried on.
“I think he’s mentioned it already and it’s good to see that bond, that connection within the team to try to help each other,” Arteta added.
Gabriel has been part of Arteta’s project for six years and has seen the Gunners transform from a side that finished eighth into Premier League champions. The Brazilian is now one of the senior figures in a squad that looks very different from the one he initially joined. His responsibilities have grown with it, particularly on nights when the manager makes wholesale changes and places academy players alongside established internationals.
Arteta returned to Arsenal's’s young players later in his press conference when discussing Dowman and the effect regular exposure to the first team can have on his development.
“When you see how those players behave daily, the level of attention they put to any detail, the way they look after themselves, the standard that they set, if you become part of that environment, that’s only going to raise your level,” he said.
That development won't come only from matches or coaching sessions. For Salmon at Ipswich, part of the lesson came during the game itself, with Gabriel beside him when something went wrong.
Arsenal still came away with the result and Salmon another senior appearance behind him. Arteta, meanwhile, left Portman Road talking as enthusiastically about Gabriel’s reaction to a mistake as he did about plenty of the football his side produced.
