Jean-Louis Garcia calls Gabriel his biggest regret from Troyes loan | OneFootball

Jean-Louis Garcia says Gabriel’s aborted Troyes loan remains the biggest regret of his coaching career as the Arsenal defender prepares to face Paris-SG in the Champions League final on Saturday. According to L'Équipe, the Brazilian made only four appearances during a stop-start 2017-2018 spell that ended after six months.

Newly promoted Troyes wanted a left-footed fourth centre-back and Lille, who had signed Gabriel, offered a loan. Garcia was sold on the Brazil Under-20 defender’s size, passing and aerial strength.

A lingering adductor problem restricted him to one outing before Christmas, against Amiens in the Coupe de la Ligue. After the break Troyes lost 1-3 at Angers with him on the bench, then beat Lille 1-0 but he was ineligible. At Toulouse, Giraudon’s third-minute red card saw Gabriel introduced and Yaya Sanogo’s 11th-minute header decided a 1-0 defeat.

He impressed next at Saint-Étienne in the Coupe de France. Garcia planned to start him against Dijon, but postponement intervened, and before Strasbourg the defender saw he was not in the plan. His agents sought assurances as the window closed, Garcia would not promise minutes, and Lille re-loaned him to Dinamo Zagreb, where he played once in six months.

Luis de Sousa mentions friction with Campos and feels Gabriel was a little impatient, adding that better communication might have helped and could have influenced their survival. Garcia says he always believed the Brazilian would go far and would handle it differently now, feeling he was too loyal to the promotion group.

Source: L'Équipe