Gabriel shows title-winning mettle with last-gasp Arsenal winner

A set-piece wizard

Gabriel's remarkable evolution as an attacking threat didn't begin when he joined Arsenal in 2020. It began one year later, in 2021, with the arrival of Arsenal's unsung hero: set-piece specialist Nicolas Jover. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta poached him from Pep Guardiola's Manchester City staff to maximize his team's dead-ball prowess.

It worked a treat. Few teams are more dangerous or more consistent in set-piece situations than Arsenal; indeed, in its 2-1 victory over Newcastle, both of Arsenal's goals came from corner kicks. 

There's plenty that goes into Arsenal's remarkable strength in this area, from its creative routines to the remarkable dead-ball delivery it receives from players like Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice. But nothing matters more than how Arsenal positions its players inside the penalty box before the move begins — or, in the case of Gabriel, how it positions its players outside it.

Jover found a breakthrough with Gabriel here. If he left him inside the penalty box on corner kicks to contest for free headers, Gabriel wouldn't score; he'd be man-marked within an inch of his life by opposition defenders who rightfully saw his 6-foot-3 frame as an aerial threat. Instead, Jover encourages Gabriel to roam a bit. On many of Arsenal's corner routines, Gabriel is visible just outside the main penalty box scrum, lurking in the distance and waiting for his moment. When the ball is struck, he sprints — and he's in position (and utterly unmarked) by the time the ball reaches him.

That's exactly how Gabriel pulled off his game-winner against Newcastle. Take a look at his positioning before the corner is played. Instead of inserting himself into the scrum, Gabriel is hanging back, ready to make a flying run into the danger zone at precisely the right moment to connect with Martin Odegaard's cross:

Simple, elegant and effective — and Arteta knows as much. 

"Him [Jover] and the rest of the staff have injected the belief to the players that there are many ways to win football matches," Arteta said. "His is a really powerful one and he has given us a lot. So a big compliment to all of them.”

A title on the line

Arsenal hasn't won the Premier League since its nigh-unrepeatable Invincibles season of 2003-04 (a campaign where it went undefeated through all 38 matches). It has had its ups and downs since then, but recent seasons have all been competitive.

That's a blessing and a curse. While Arsenal fans are largely thrilled to see their team contending for the top prize, there's no escaping the fact that the Gunners have repeatedly come up short. Second in 2024-25. Second in 2023-24. Second in 2022-23. Time is running out for this Arsenal generation to win its much-deserved title.

This season, there are no excuses. Arteta has built the deepest and most talented Arsenal squad in years, and there's a real sense that Arsenal is the strongest side in the league by far — not even Liverpool or Manchester City can compete with it on talent depth. With that kind of roster, finishing second isn't going to cut it anymore. Arsenal has to win.

Moments like this prove that it just might be able to pull it off. Gabriel isn't one of Arteta's depth signings — he's one of the longest-tenured players in the squad — but his ability to pop up and change games shows that Arsenal's depth isn't just about talent. It's about mental fortitude, too, and the ability to hang back on the biggest corner kick of your year, even if no other players would try it, because you know it gives you a shot at getting into the box unmarked.

It was always going to be Gabriel. The only real surprise in his game-winning goal is that after all these years, we still didn't see it coming.