Gabriel Magalhaes gives the Premier a hammer blow | Soccer | Sports

“We have to be like a hammer and be there, every day, every day,” he said. On the prowl With faith in the chase because accidents will be inevitable on all sides. It was the slogan that the Arsenal coach launched last week to address a Premier in which the title contenders are faltering. An unusual fact in the English championship in this century, especially since the arrival of Pep Guardiola. Since the 2016-2017 academic year, the winner of the title successively obtained 93, 100, 98, 99, 86, 93, 89 and 91 points. Seven of the eight tournaments with the highest points achieved were recorded in the last nine editions. This time it’s different. This Wednesday, Arsenal entrusted itself to the protection of Gabriel Magalhaes, the head of its defence, and beat Tottenham at the Emirates (2-1) to deliver a major blow that could be decisive on a day in which everyone its direct rivals ran aground.

Liverpool, the leader, tied with the second, Nottingham Forest; Chelsea tied; and City tied. The most disconcerting matchday 21 of the Premier League in the last decade was a sample of the general line. Inconsistency spreads. Arsenal were spared, beating Tottenham for the third consecutive time in the north London derby. The 2-1 elevated the team to second position in the table. With 43 points, they are barely four away from Liverpool, which with 47 shows signs of fading after a first phase in which they only lost one game and were the team with the fewest goals scored.

Liverpool’s visit to Forest’s field on Tuesday resulted in the predictable assault on the fronton. Forest form one of the tightest and most enthusiastic defensive lines in England. Against the reactivity of Murillo, Milenkovic, Aina, Yates and Anderson, Arne Slot’s team revealed all their imaginative deficiencies. The attacks led to the wings, the center to the pot, or the mid-range shot, without Robertson increasing his declining trajectory, without Szoboszlai abandoning his intermittent pattern, without Gravenberch asking for the ball with the continuity due to a reference midfielder, and without Luis Díaz managing to mesh as false nine. This selfless and generous Liverpool is not trained for subtleties. Neither with Klopp nor with Slot. He also didn’t make any signings last summer. They are the same players who deflated last season in the spring, with the title at hand. Arsenal managers know it. Arteta and his players know it. Hence the fury with which they celebrated the victory in the derby.

Arteta’s face had taken on a pale yellowish color and his eyes were sunken in their black sockets. He looked like a Nosferatu when he emerged from the locker room tunnel this Wednesday to greet his colleague Ange Postecoglou. The anxiety was justified. The Basque coach had just suffered three successive blows: elimination in the League Cup against Newcastle, and elimination from the English Cup against United. All this added to the realization that their great bet, Kai Havertz, appeared in the eyes of the fans and the board as the main person responsible for the problems of the team’s lack of goals, while their best center forward, Gabriel Jesús, was He broke his knee and was placed on the sick list until the end of the season. Tottenham’s visit served as a touchstone. The response from the players was the best news for Arsenal.

The suffocating pressure on Bissouma and Pape Sarr paralyzed Tottenham from the start. Son’s goal, after a corner, was a mirage more than a consequence of the straight game. Between Magalhaes, Partey, Odegaard and Trossard they lifted the game. Solanke’s 1-1 own goal, after a corner headed by Magalhaes at the far post, did justice to Arsenal’s barrage of football. Trossard’s 2-1, after a steal by Partey in conjunction with Odegaard before the break, was definitive. Arsenal spent the second half managing the lead rather than maintaining the pressure, and almost lost control of the match. As in Brighton, it seemed that Arteta ordered his players to slow down to avoid the risk of a counterattack. The consequence was exactly the opposite of what was intended.

He had too many approaches. What he didn’t have was a striker capable of outwitting Magalhaes. The Brazilian scored a ball on the goal line to Solanke to start a recital that left the English striker on scorched earth and his teammate, Heuming Son, far from his activation zone. He moved the line with the punctuality of a clock to ward off danger and shielded his goal, with 19 goals against in 21 games, the fewest goals scored in England. At his side, the young Lewis-Skelly became a torment for Kulusevski.

At 27 years old, the Sao Paulo center back is in his fifth season in the Premier League. He arrived at Arsenal from Lille, aged 22, in exchange for 30 million euros. Today he is a starter with Brazil, an acrobat of the brand, a contagious spirit, a man with a mission. This Wednesday he won half a game by himself. In the most unstable Premier, Gabriel Magalhaes is a guarantee of security.