If Fulham away offered Gabriel Magalhaes an opportunity to ease his way into English football, hosting West Ham did anything but.
On the opening day at Craven Cottage, bar a miscommunication with Bernd Leno early on, the 22-year-old was fairly comfortable despite making his first competitive appearance since March. Faced with Aboubakar Kamara, Gabriel was a towering figure in the air and was solid in one-on-one situations.
Against West Ham, Michail Antonio gave the Brazilian a much better indicator of what it would be like for centre-backs over the course of a Premier League season.
As was the case in March, the 30-year-old was a nuisance for the Gunners all night. Playing in a more central role, it was the jobs of Rob Holding - who guided Gabriel through his debut at Fulham - and the Brazilian to marshal him and this was a task, Arsenal's signing appeared keen to see out.
10 minutes into the game, the sheer potential of the ball reach Antonio on the halfway line resulted in a the first of many coming togethers between the pair. This time around, the impact of the contact saw Antonio fly head over heels on the touchline.
Out of Michael Oliver's eye-line, nothing was given against Gabriel. These battles continued throughout the game, with differing winners on each occasion. Since joining the Hammers in 2015, Antonio has proven himself to be one of the strongest forwards in the Premier League and that was on display in these duels.
Early in the second half, receiving the ball near the touchline, he was immediately pressured by Gabriel. Two behemoths colliding, it was a spectacle for those in the surrounding area to see who would come out on top. Although Antonio stood his ground that time around, Arsenal's new signing didn't shy away from his defensive duties.
The visitors grew in confidence as the game went on and as a result, created more goalscoring chances. With the score at 1-1, chances fell to Jarrod Bowen, Antonio and Tomas Soucek, none of which able to pass Bernd Leno, or Gabriel in particular.
Under more pressure in the latter stages of the game, the contributions made by the 22-year-old were crucial. Blocks from Bowen's curlers and ever so slight touches back into safety all played a part in keeping Arsenal level and therefore giving Eddie Nketiah the chance to win the game in the dying moments.
Over the course of the game, Gabriel made two interceptions, five clearances and blocked three shots. It was far from pretty, but the job he did with Antonio and later in a more general defensive sense build the platform for the Gunners to maintain their 100% start to the 2020/21 campaign.
"We still have a lot of work to do here but at least they kept trying and nobody hid," Arteta said after the game.
"They can make mistakes but they are not allowed to hide and none of them did that and at the end you get rewarded."
