Arsene Wenger believes Gabriel showed “great potential” on his Arsenal debut.
The Brazilian defender helped the Gunners to keep a clean sheet in Sunday’s FA Cup fifth-round victory over Middlesbrough.
Wenger was pleased with the manner of the win and feels Gabriel has the attributes to be a major player at Arsenal.
"You see there’s some great potential there, some good focus, good urgency, good desire to defend"
“He did really well and you see there’s some great potential there, some good focus, good urgency, good desire to defend,” he told Arsenal Player. “He made a great recovery tackle in the box and I believe it’s very positive for a first game. He played a little bit with nervousness but overall he had a good performance.
“I’m pleased with the quality of our game first and of course with the win.
“What is always important for the confidence of the team is to come off the blocks at the start, play with a good pace and that gave Middlesbrough a big problem.
“Overall I feel the first half was top quality and we scored good goals as well, maybe not enough, but on the other hand I’m happy that we kept a clean sheet. We’ve had a good week here.”
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