How One Arteta Phone Call Convinced Gabriel Magalhaes Into Signing For Arsenal

Arsenal always had a strong chance of landing Gabriel Magalhaes and seem to have finally got their target.

Napoli, Everton and Manchester United offered stiff competition but it was always the Gunners who were the favourites. Gabriel took his time to decide on Arsenal when he had multiple offers.

According to reports, the Brazilian was blown away by a phone call conversation from Mikel Arteta. It was the Gunners boss who posed the most convincing argument in the entire transfer saga and succeeded in getting his player. Gabriel is now due to move to North London on a £21.6 million deal, rising to £27 million through add-ons.

Arsenal will finally be able to look ahead with hopes of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes marshalling their defence for years to come. In Gabriel, they will receive a strong, physical presence at the back, capable of knocking down long balls across the pitch. He is quick and agile enough to take on the fastest attackers and an enthusiastic tackler. Gabriel is also left-footed which will make him the ideal fit next to all the right-footed centre-halfs at Arsenal.

Strengthening that backline was always on top of Arteta’s priority list when he joined the Gunners last December. Now, he can look to improve his midfield with players like Houssem Aouar, Thomas Partey and Philippe Coutinho linked to the cliub.