Arsenal FC has announced the signing of Brazilian central defender Gabriel Magalhães from Lille for a potential €30 million deal.
The deal was announced on Tuesday, in a video on social media where fellow compatriots David Luiz and new man Willian both interviewed the defender via Zoom.
The 22-year-old, who penned a five-year deal with the Gunners, took his a medical in London over a week ago and is currently in quarantine after arriving from France.
The left-footed center-back, who joined Lille for £1.5 million in 2017 from Avai, went out on loan to Troyes and Dinamo Zagreb before breaking into the Lille team midway through the 2018/19 season.
Several clubs across Europe have been tracking Gabriel’s development while Napoli, Manchester United, and Everton were reportedly keen on the Brazilians signature.
However, his agent claims that the Brazilian favored a move to the Premier League side, turning down more lucrative offers elsewhere.
Gabriel played a key role for Lille lasts season, as he helped them to a fourth-place finish in the league while playing in all their six Champions League group stage matches.
In a statement on the official Arsenal website, Technical director Edu said: “We are delighted to have signed Gabriel. He is a player we have been studying for a while and he was in demand from many clubs, so we are proud to have agreed and completed this transfer with Lille and the player. Gabriel is a player of high quality and Mikel and his coaches are looking forward to integrating him into the club.”
Mikel Arteta said: “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 many outstanding attributes and we are looking forward to watching him grow as an Arsenal player.”
Gabriel is Mikel Arteta’s second major signing this summer following the capture of Willian on a free transfer from fellow London club Chelsea.
Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares have also returned to the Emirates, made their loan moves permanent from Flamengo and Southampton while Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos will return for his second loan spell.
