Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes is in the news.
The Brazil international has become one of the best central defenders in the world. He has been fantastic for the Gunners and has formed a great partnership alongside William Saliba.
Gabriel is one of the first names on Arsenal’s team sheet every week, and he is one of Martin Odegaard’s vice-captains at the club as well.
He is a hugely important player for Mikel Arteta, but the centre-half has been attracting some serious interest from Saudi Arabia.
This, however, isn’t the first time.
The truth behind Mikel Arteta dropping Gabriel Magalhaes at Arsenal in 2023
Gabriel has almost always been a regular starter at Arsenal since he joined the club in 2020.
The Brazilian has played 209 games for the Gunners in all competitions, and Arteta would ideally want him to double those appearances in the coming years.
But, reports have claimed that Saudi giants Al-Nassr are keen to sign Gabriel, who is said to be open to a move to the Middle East.
Back in the summer of 2023, there was interest from Saudi Arabia in Gabriel, and rumours claimed that he was ready to go there as well.
Charles Watts has now revealed that Arteta dropped Gabriel then for this reason – even though he publicly claimed at the time that it was due to tactics.
The journalist wrote in The Daily Briefing: “In the summer of 2023 there were fears at Arsenal that Gabriel’s head had been turned by the money that was on offer, which was why he was left out of the team in those early games that season.
“Mikel Arteta publicly said it was tactical, but it wasn’t. It was because of what was going on behind the scenes with the interest from Saudi.
“Arsenal did not want to lose him and ultimately Gabriel stayed put, with Arteta swiftly restoring him to his starting XI once the situation was put to bed.”
Arsenal already have a plan for Gabriel
Arsenal, unsurprisingly, have no interest in selling Gabriel.
The Gunners have the best defence in the Premier League thanks to the former Lille man and Saliba, and breaking that partnership up could create a ton of problems.
So, Arsenal are planning to offer a new contract to Gabriel – that will be one of the first things Andrea Berta will do once he is officially announced as the new sporting director.
However, it remains to be seen if the Brazil international will reject the tempting riches of Saudi Arabia for a deal at the Emirates Stadium this summer.
Gabriel’s current contract at Arsenal expires in 2027.
