Arsenal have recently tied Gabriel Magalhaes down to a new contract, in what is undoubtedly a huge boost for the club.
The Brazilian centre-back has been a star performer for the Gunners since he joined from Lille in the summer of 2020, and fans will be thrilled that he’s committed his future to the north Londoners after some speculation over a possible move away during the summer.
Writing in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, Fabrizio Romano says that Juventus and one other club approached Gabriel’s agents during the summer, and it’s certainly easy to imagine that some of Europe’s biggest names will have been keen to sign him.
Romano also said that Manchester United and Napoli were interested in the 24-year-old before he ended up at the Emirates Stadium, with Arsenal’s insistence over the deal seemingly winning the player over in the end.
“I’m told two clubs approached Gabriel Magalhaes’ agents in July, and Juventus were one of them for sure,” Romano said.
“Arsenal decided to keep him as key player for present and future.
“Napoli were pushing more than Man United for Gabriel in 2020, but Arsenal’s insistence made the difference.”
Arsenal had problems with defenders for a few years as signings like Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz struggled, but they’ve done well to rebuild under Mikel Arteta, with Gabriel joining alongside Ben White, while William Saliba has been immense since returning from loan this summer.