Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: I would prefer it if Gabriel were better at English

Gabriel’s grasp of the English language remains a problem for Arsenal over a year after his move from Villarreal, Arsene Wenger has admitted.

The Brazilian centre-back’s starting opportunities were limited in the months after his arrival in England, with Wenger choosing to allow Gabriel to settle in the country before thrusting him in to a regular starting role.

This season started similarly slowly for Gabriel but in the aftermath of Per Mertesacker’s red card against Chelsea in January the 25-year-old has seen his first-team opportunities improve significantly, though injury robbed him of the chance to start against Leicester and Barcelona.

His promotion has not come without problems though, and Gabriel has been widely criticized for his poor defending in Marcus Rashford’s brace as Manchester United claimed a 3-2 win at Old Trafford.

In particular the second saw a calamitous mix-up between Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel, who scarcely competed with the 18-year-old as the Brazilian expected his flat-footed colleague to win the cross.

Wenger suggested that the communication between the pair is causing problems at the heart of Arsenal’s defence, though he noted the steps Gabriel has taken to improve his command of English.

“I would prefer him to have better English,” he said. “In a fraction of a second sometimes somebody can help you.

“He has Nacho Monreal who plays next to him, he can speak Spanish. I believe as well he’s working very hard on his English and he’s improving quite quickly.”

Several Arsenal players, including Gabriel and Theo Walcott, came in for individual criticism after their side’s substandard display in what could be a decisive result in the title race.

Wenger deflected attention from individual displays and reaffirmed it would be the responsibility of the entire side to recover from a week in which they also lost to Barcelona.

“It’s difficult for me to go into individual assessments of performances,” he said. “We have to respond as a team and not criticize individually players for their performance.

“It was a difficult game for everybody and we want to respond collectively.”