Gabriel Magalhaes has explained why defensive work with Brazil presents a very different challenge from what he is used to at Arsenal.
Gabriel Magalhaes has explained one of the biggest differences between working with Arsenal and Brazil, pointing to the amount of time available to build defensive understanding at club level.
Brazil head into matches against Japan on November 14 and Singapore on November 17 having kept one clean sheet in their past five games, with Gabriel’s experience an important part of a defence still developing its understanding.
Both matches will be played at Singapore’s National Stadium as part of the Mizuho Blue Challenge – The Kallang Football Series Singapore.
Speaking at a press conference at W Singapore – Sentosa Cove on November 11, Gabriel said the rhythm of international football inevitably makes the work different from what he experiences every day in north London.
“It’s completely different working with Arsenal and coming to the national team…,” he said.
“At Arsenal, we’re together, talking and working, every single day. With the national team, we don’t have that same amount of time, but we try to become stronger. We have very good defenders here, and we’ll try to be at our best.
“We know that if we don’t concede, we’re closer to winning matches and that’s what we work on every day, on the pitch and in conversations off it. It’s no different with Brazil…
“We also have new players of great quality at big clubs, and we want to build that same strength within the group.”
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti has selected a 26-player squad containing five first-time call-ups for the November programme.
No players from Flamengo or Palmeiras were selected, with the Brazilian Football Confederation seeking to avoid disrupting the clubs during the closing stages of their domestic title race.
Brazil face Japan at 10.15am GMT on Saturday before meeting Singapore at 10am GMT on Tuesday.
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