Spanish football journalist reveals Arsenal player exit is imminent, others also to be shown the door in back-log clear-out

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Guillem Balague, a renowned Spanish football journalist, has claimed defender Gabriel Paulista is set to leave Arsenal and join La Liga outfit Valencia.

Balague goes on to state the deal could rise up to £10m, around £1.2m less than Arsene Wenger signed him for in January of 2015, per BBC Sport.

The Brazilian is currently out of favour at the Emirates with Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny and Rob Holding all preferable centre-half selections for Wenger.

The Daily Star reported the Arsenal boss admitted Gabriel struggled to settle in to English football:

“He does not speak a word in English and this can cost us goals,” he stated last campaign. “It’s a position where you need to know where your teammates are and communicate well.”

The 26-year-old was part of Arsenal’s 2015 and 2017 FA Cup winning squads, but only played 15 Premier League games last year, according to arsenal.com.

The Express claims Wenger is getting rid of fringe players to make way for some fresh faces. Carl Jenkinson, Kieran Gibbs and Calum Chambers are all expected to follow Gabriel through the exit door before the window shuts on 31st August.

 

More Stories Arsene Wenger calum chambers Carl Jenkinson Gabriel Paulista guillem Balague Kieran Gibbs Laurent Koscielny Rob Holding Shkodran Mustafi