Arsenal defender Gabriel was left out the starting eleven during their opening day victory over Nottingham Forest – he could soon move to a club in Saudi Arabia, according to a report from the Daily Mirror.
Arsenal do not seem to be keen on the idea of letting Gabriel go, having rejected advances for him in the past. However, everyone has a price.
A bid for the player has yet to be submitted. Nevertheless, the vast swathes of financial resources at the disposal of Saudi Arabian clubs is well-known – they made put forth an offer that is too good to turn down.
Can Arsenal cope with the loss of Gabriel?
In the 2022/23 season, Gabriel formed a truly formidable centre-back partnership with William Saliba. When the two were paired together, they were indomitable – not only was their positioning excellent, they were also very quick. Therefore, players were very limited in tersm of their options for getting past them.
With this being said, Saliba often seemed to be the superior player of the two. Gabriel was (and is) prone to a mistake – it would generally be left to Saliba ton cover his errors.
When the towering Frenchman suffered an injury towards the end of the season, the Gunners’ form plummeted – without Saliba at his side, Gabriel often looked all at sea.
With the injury of Jurrien Timber, losing Gabriel to Saudi Arabia is far from an ideal situation – but likewise, he is not irreplaceable.
Which other big-name players have moved from the Premier League to Saudi Arabia?
The emergence of the Saudi Pro League as one of the newest budding world powers in football is well-documented. While they do not have the pedigree as of yet, they have the money to challenge any league in the world – including the Premier League.
Some of the most notable names who have made the jump from England to Saudi Arabia include Jordan Henderson, Ruben Neves and Fabinho – they are not the first, nor are they likely to be the last.
Several massive names from outside of the Premier League have also move to the Saudi Pro League – Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar are just a few major examples.
