Arsenal has announced the signing of the 22-year-old defender Gabriel Magalhães from Lille for a reported fee of €27m.

The Brazilian born defender has been on the rather of the North London club for a while and the club has finally managed to get their man.

Gabriel is a left footed modern day defender, he is a hard tackler who is as well very good in the air and can play with the ball at his feet which suits Mikel Arteta’s preferred pattern of playing out from the back.

He also has a very good passing range with his ability to find his team mates with a long pass from the defence.

The former Lille man expressed his delight on his move to the Emirates stadium and has this to say;

“Edu (Arsenal’s technical director) and I had several chats about Arsenal and the new project, we had many good conversations. As the days went by I was getting very excited about it, then I had a call from the coach and that was very reassuring.

“So many fans were sending me messages asking me to join Arsenal, and that played a big part in me signing for this club. I spoke a lot with my family and my agents, I also spoke with some of Lille’s directors, but as I said, this club’s history and traditions and the team project for the next few years were very motivational for my decision to come here. So here I am, wearing the Arsenal shirt, I will give my best for it and come on you Gunners!”

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta also expressed his delight on the defender’s acquisition and has this to say. “We welcome Gabriel to Arsenal. He has many qualities which will make us stronger as a defensive unit and as a team. He has proved with Lille that he is a defender with outstanding attributes and we’re looking forward to watching him grow as an Arsenal player.”

Gabriel Magalhães becomes Arsenal’s second signing of the summer after fellow Brazilian Willian Borges has joined on a free transfer. He will be wearing the number 6 shirt for the Gunners ahead of the new season.

Advertisement