Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has praised new boy Gabriel Paulista calling his display against Middlesbrough as ‘intelligent’ while also having praise for the goal scorer Olivier Giroud after his brace secured victory for the Gunners.
When speaking after the match to the BBC Wenger said: “We started well with a good pace and we controlled the game well with our movement and technical quality.
“We had good team focus overall, we maybe lost our cohesion a little bit at 2-0 but I am happy. Overall we were serious and focused over the whole game.
“We had a good day but Middlesbrough are a good side, it was important for us not to let them come back to 2-1 because they are good technically and are organised, they are a good team.
“Olivier Giroud was very sharp. He has improved a lot compared to the player he was when we he arrived here.
“He is mobile, technically good, and he works with great focus in training. He has become a top player.
“Gabriel Paulista made a great recovery tackle in the box. He wants to defend, he has good urgency levels and a good physique and technical qualities.
“He is short language-wise but the intelligent players compensate with vision. He looks at what his partners are doing, and he did that well.”
