Kieran Gibbs has revealed how Arsenal’s players and staff worked with Gabriel to get his English up to speed ahead of his debut on Sunday.
The Brazilian centre back impressed as the Gunners put in a composed display to beat Middlesbrough 2-0 in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Arsene Wenger had previously admitted that Gabriel does not speak the language at all, but Gibbs said they have been able to work around that.
"Steve Bould goes through it with him with one of the Spanish boys, who then translates what it means in English so he understands when it is said to him on the pitch"
Gibbs on Gabriel
“He came in on his debut and did extremely well,” the left back said. “He looks like he has been playing at this level for a long time. He has settled in straight away which is good for us.
“He doesn’t speak any English at the moment and it was the same with Alexis when he came. It won’t take him long. We’ve brushed him up on a few of the sayings for him to get used to.
“In training and stuff in the week, Steve Bould goes through it with him with one of the Spanish boys, who then translates what it means in English so he understands when it is said to him on the pitch. That’s what it starts from and to get a good understanding it is important.
“One of the biggest things that I’ve realised from him is that he embraces the physical side of the game. That’s what we want from a centre half.
“At this stage of the season, we don’t want to have any excuses that we fell short from injuries. It is nice to know that we have got a good solid central defence who are all available."
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
