The Gunners 27-year-old defender has quietly transformed! Carragher: He is the most influential player in the Premier League

This is undoubtedly a wonderful moment for Arsenal fans. While Mikel Arteta's side still have a long way to go, they remain top of the Premier League table after another near-perfect weekend, currently six points ahead of Manchester City and seven ahead of Liverpool. Furthermore, while the North London side still have room for improvement in some areas, such as scoring goals through open play, they are currently in their best form for many years.

What is even more exciting is that more and more Gunners players are now recognized as one of the top players in the Premier League. One of them has even more influence than Saka and Rice, he is Gabriel. In the last few years of Wenger's coaching at Arsenal, and in the early years of Emery and Arteta's coaching, Arsenal was often criticized for "lack of leadership", and both fans and commentators repeatedly pointed out this problem.

However, in recent years, such voices have become fewer and fewer. Even today, if someone still says this, many people will think it is obviously wrong. Arteta has successfully transformed this once "weak" team that opponents were happy to challenge into a strong team that is feared by almost all teams.

From forward to defense, Arsenal now has no shortage of real leaders. Rice was the captain of West Ham United before joining the Gunners and has now captained the England national team many times. He is regarded as one of the players with the most "old-school" leadership qualities in the team. Even Saka, who is only 24 years old, has grown into a true leader in recent years. He wears the captain's armband when Odegaard is absent and supports the team's offense alone when his forward partner is in poor condition.

On the defensive line, Brazilian central defender Gabriel has become increasingly difficult to ignore. The Brazil international joined Arsenal in the summer of 2020 for about £27 million. Initially, his performance was sometimes considered a "hidden risk". However, in recent years, the former Lille center back has gradually moved away from those low-level mistakes of the past and grown into one of the top center backs in the Premier League and even the world.

This may sound exaggerated, but the data is unquestionable: Arsenal has the best defense in the Premier League since the 2023/24 season, and the 27-year-old central defender has played 36 and 28 games respectively in the past 2 seasons. This season, he has maintained full attendance in 9 Premier League games, and the team has only conceded 3 goals, one of which was Szoboszlai's shocking free kick at Anfield. Therefore, this "giant" born in Sao Paulo is very likely to help Arsenal break Chelsea's record of conceding only 15 goals in a single Premier League season this season.

More importantly, although the 1.90-meter-tall "iron tower"'s primary task is defense, his threat in the opponent's penalty area has also increased in recent years. Arsenal is known as "the strongest set-piece team in the world", which has a lot to do with Gabriel's existence. Since joining Arsenal, Gabriel has scored 22 goals and provided 7 assists in 223 games. He is currently the 100th goalscorer in Arsenal history. This season, Gabriel has scored 2 goals and 2 assists, and can be called the number one "defender with a knife" in the Premier League!

Taken together, whether it is his excellent defensive ability, amazing offensive threat, or outstanding leadership qualities, it is impossible to disagree with Carragher's evaluation: "He is now the most influential player in the Premier League."