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Arsenal in pole position to sign £27m South American star – reports

By on August 5, 2020

Gabriel-Magalhaes

According to reports in France, Arsenal are in pole position to sign Gabriel Magalhaes after overtaking Man Utd in the race to sign the £27m Lille centre-back this summer.

Mikel Arteta desperately needs to strengthen his squad this summer after Arsenal finished eighth in the Premier League table and strengthening our defensive options should be a priority after conceding 48 goals this season.

William Saliba has arrived from St Etienne and Pablo Mari has made his move permanent but Arsenal still have too many poor defenders. Shkodran Mustafi had a little purple patch but he’s still not good enough, Sokratis should leave after falling out of favour, Rob Holding hasn’t been the same since his injury and David Luiz continues to be a calamity at times.

Hopefully we can sell two of the above to allow Arsenal to bring in another top class centre-back and Gabriel has emerged as a target in recent weeks after impressing for Lille this season.

The Brazilian has attracted interest from several clubs, including Manchester United and Napoli, however, the Metro is carrying a report that claims Arsenal are now in pole position to sign the £27m-rated defender.

The report originates from France Bleu Nord and the French outlet says Gabriel could be heading to Arsenal after we stepped-up our pursuit of the player, and Lille have already signed Sven Botman as a replacement.

According to the Metro, Gabriel’s agent was in England last week holding talks with interested clubs so it looks like things may have gone well during discussions with Arsenal chiefs.

The South American has developed into one of the most highly-rated centre-backs in French football since joining Lille in 2017 and he helped the club finish fourth in Ligue 1 last season.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming weeks but Gabriel would be an exciting addition to the squad and he could form an excellent partnership with Saliba over the coming years if we could get this deal over the line.