Arsenal tipped to pursue Brazilian ace in summer after failed January swoop

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Arsenal will reportedly try again for Lille defender Gabriel this summer after an unsuccessful attempt to sign him during the January transfer window.

The Gunners have seen their defence continue to be a key weakness in the current side as they’ve conceded 34 goals in 25 Premier League games so far this season.

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That gives them the joint-second worst defensive record of the top 10 sides in the standings, and so Mikel Arteta will know that they have to shore things up if they want to compete at the top level.

According to The Sun, via Le10 Sport, they identified Gabriel as a possible solution last month, but saw their offers rejected by the Ligue 1 outfit.

However, the report goes on to suggest that they won’t give up in their bid to sign the 22-year-old as they will try again in the summer as clearly they rate him highly and believe he could be the ideal signing for Arteta to improve his backline in the long term.

The Brazilian defender has made 29 appearances in total for Lille so far this season as he has established himself as a key figure for his side.

Further, he is capped at U20 level for Brazil, and so it would seem as though he certainly has a bright future ahead of him.

Having snapped up Gabriel Martinelli last summer, it would be another swoop for a talented Brazilian ace, but it remains to be seen if Arsenal are able to reach an agreement with Lille on a transfer fee given their troubles in doing so in January.

As noted by the Guardian, the Gunners did complete a deal for Pablo Mari from Flamengo, as he has joined on an initial loan move with an option to buy at the end of the season.

Time will tell if Arsenal do make that move permanent and whether or not they will want Gabriel too as summer signing William Saliba will be due back from his loan spell with Saint-Etienne.

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