After many weeks of speculation and a potential hijack, Gabriel Magalhaes is officially an Arsenal player. The 22-year-old signed a long term deal worth £27 million as he becomes fourth Brazilian in the current Arsenal squad.
The left-footed centre back had a breakout season during the 2019/20 campaign after a difficult start at LOSC Lille. He joined the French club in 2017 but did not make his first-team debut till February 2019.
Gabriel has loan stints at Ligue 2 side Troyes and Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb. Since his first-team debut for Lille, Gabriel has improved greatly and became one of the most sought after centre backs in 2020.
Europe’s big boys tried to convince the Sao Paulo native to ignore the interest from Arsenal. Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli all tried to secure the services of Gabriel but he chose to join Mikel Arteta’s army.
Gabriel is a great addition to the current Arsenal squad which now has a decent blend of youth and experience. The resurgence under Mikel Arteta has been credited with two trophies, the Emirates FA Cup and the FA Community Shield.
However, the 6ft 3 defender will need to adapt to the Premier League as soon as possible and fight for his place in the squad. Gabriel’s inclusion to the Arsenal team now leaves Arteta with eight options at the centre back position.
Intending to sign three more players, departures are imminent as Arsenal need to raise funds to aid their purchase of new players.
The presence of a Brazilian contingent consisting of David Luiz, Willian, Pablo Mari, Gabriel Martinelli and the club’s technical director Edu, Gabriel would be able to settle down as soon as possible and establish himself in the first team.
