How Gabriel soared head and shoulders above the rest for Arsenal

From fighting off a baseball bat-wielding robber three years ago to becoming one of the Premier League’s most-feared defenders, Gabriel Magalhaes is no stranger to confrontation in tight spaces.

The Brazilian centre back’s transformation has made him a pillar of Arsenal’s backline — and, crucially, the key to their set-piece plans.

The 26-year-old has scored twice from corners this season: a bullet header to seal a 1-0 win over Tottenham and another header in the hard-fought 2-2 draw with Manchester City.

Under the guidance of set-piece guru Nicolas Jover, Arsenal have become masters of the art. Last season, they scored the most set-piece goals in the Premier League (22) and they are leading the way this campaign with four.

And Gabriel is the key. He has scored 16 league goals (14 from corners, two from free-kicks and zero from open play) for Arsenal since signing from Lille in September 2020. That is more than any other defender in the league in the same period (Kurt Zouma is second with 11).

When Arsenal take their corners, Gabriel’s team-mates invariably create a path for him to maraud towards the ball and head it goalwards. He is that crucial to these routines, the set-up is often built around him.

For Gabriel’s match-winning header against Spurs, Ben White and William Saliba were busy fending off opposition players centrally in the box, while Gabriel Martinelli crept to the front post to occupy Dominic Solanke.

White and Saliba almost gave goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario no room to move, while affording Gabriel the time and space to enter the danger zone from outside the crowded cluster of players.

A slightly different routine was in place for the goal against City. On that occasion, Martinelli stood right in front of goalkeeper Ederson, Saliba positioned himself centrally and Riccardo Calafiori was in the mix and actually trying to score, too.

This time, Gabriel was given an even bigger run-up, starting from a deeper position, which made his leap and header all the more difficult to stop.

Against City, Gabriel missed a golden chance from a Saka corner minutes before he scored, after losing his marker Jeremy Doku. City, sensing the danger, put Kyle Walker on him next time. It made no difference. Gabriel (right) scored anyway.

The Arsenal corner routine has struck fear into teams across the country. But Gabriel’s journey to becoming a set-piece supremo started in Brazil. As a 15-year-old, he arrived at Avai FC in Santa Catarina on trial. Manager Diogo Fernandes was willing to take a punt on a defender of slim build and who, initially, was soft in challenges. He did, though, have the tools required to be good in the air.

‘Gabriel has always been an athlete who absorbed a lot of information the coaching staff provided him,’ Fernandes tells Mail Sport. ‘Up until the Under 15s age group, he didn’t have a very good offensive aerial game.

‘But in the Under 17s, he ended up improving that. At that time, we assigned a professional who worked specifically with the youth categories, focusing on finishing, defensive and offensive heading, and set-pieces.

‘Gabriel was part of this programme, where he enhanced his aerial game — especially offensively. Later on, we reaped a lot of benefits from that.

‘He scored many goals, and it became routine — every set-piece, Gabriel was a reference and always ended up scoring goals thanks to his learning.

‘He wasn’t a player who arrived ready, so to speak, but he was always refining himself and he responded very quickly to everything presented to him.’

Fabricio Bento was one of the coaches who worked with Gabriel on his heading at Avai. His fine-tuning saw the defender reach new heights — literally.

‘He was already tall, so always stood out because of that,’ Bento tells Mail Sport. ‘We worked on heading, but he already had that skill. In the youth categories, he not only had the ability to head the ball well, but also to score goals. He was always able to score goals in the youth teams, which made our job easier.

‘We helped him refine some situations, like improving his timing to better attack the ball. And he always had this knack for scoring, especially at the near post, where he would anticipate the defenders’ movement.

‘We focused a lot on drills for timing the ball and attacking it, especially during set-pieces, positioning him to attack the near post and the ball. These were the specific drills we practised frequently, not just with him but with others as well. We emphasised this a lot to help them have good positioning inside the box.’

That foundation work has paid off. Gabriel turned professional and ended up captaining Avai as a teenager, before signing for Lille in January 2017.

He was sent out on loan to fellow Ligue 1 side Troyes and then Dinamo Zagreb, struggling for minutes at both. But on his return in 2018, boss Christophe Galtier brought Gabriel back into the fold and kickstarted his rapid rise. He was soon on Arsenal’s radar, and the Gunners pounced in 2020, signing him for £27million. He is now one of the first names on their teamsheet.

The performances and clean sheets — Arsenal kept the most in the Premier League last season — have been made possible by Gabriel feeling more settled off the pitch.

Mail Sport revealed in November 2021 that the 6ft 3in defender had fought off a robber who lunged at him with a baseball bat after demanding the footballer’s car keys, mobile phone and watch as he exited his £45,000 Mercedes in his garage.

He and his friend had been followed by three men after a night out. In the scuffle, Gabriel struck the would-be thief in the face and wrestled with him, before he wriggled free. The incident shook Gabriel up.

But since that run-in, Gabriel’s life has been calm and that has been reflected in his performances. He was left out of the starting line-up for the first three league matches of last season amid interest from Saudi clubs. After that, he started every league match of the campaign bar one.

Family has played a key role in his transformation. Gabriel married wife Gabrielle in June 2023, and they have a daughter, Maya, aged two. He is family orientated, something which goes back to his teenage days in Brazil, where he felt homesick after leaving

Sao Paulo for Avai. That bond is still there. On what’s changed for Gabriel in the past year or so, Arteta says: ‘I think his role in the team. The way he was perceived when he arrived. Obviously the language was a barrier, he didn’t have the environment, he didn’t have the family that he’s got today. He’s made a lot of right decisions.

‘He’s proved to everyone how committed he is to the team and to the club. And his performances are undeniable — they have taken him to a different level in terms of the standards he sets in the team, and in the way we have to defend.’

There is a large Brazilian contingent at Arsenal that has made him feel at home. Gabriel Jesus, Martinelli, Neto and Jorginho (Italian nationality but born in Imbituba, Brazil) all share the same language. Jesus, Martinelli and Gabriel are particularly close with each other.

But it is the relationship with defensive partner William Saliba that has really gelled on the pitch. While the prowess of Saliba has long been lauded, Mail Sport understands Arsenal often felt Gabriel’s quality was overlooked.

Not any more. The duo are rock solid. Arsenal boasted the best defensive record in the league last season and have continued in the same vein this term. Only Liverpool have conceded fewer goals.

So, the foundations are in place and the set-piece goals keep coming. If Arsenal are to win the title this time around, it will be Gabriel heading the charge. Additional reporting by Josue Seixas