Fabrizio Romano says people inside Arsenal think one player has been severely ‘underrated’ for years

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Arsenal have many underrated players in their squad.

Mikel Arteta has built a tremendous side over the years, and some of them get the credit they deserve at the Emirates.

However, there are a few who just go under the radar. The likes of David Raya, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, and now Viktor Gyokeres are not rated as highly as they should be.

One Arsenal player, however, has been getting immense praise over the last year, but that wasn’t always the case.

Arsenal insiders think Gabriel Magalhaes has been ‘underrated’ for years

Arsenal signed Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille in the summer of 2020.

The Brazil international had made a brilliant name for himself in France, but not many people knew about him here in England.

Gabriel scored and kept a clean sheet on his debut against Fulham, and he has consistently improved over the years.

Yet, in his first few years at Arsenal, he never got the credit he deserved and was even criticised by some pundits.

Jamie Carragher recently admitted that he was wrong about Gabriel, and many others have changed their tune about him as well.

It’s great to see Gabriel getting the praise now, but people inside Arsenal always knew that he was an incredible defender.

Romano said about the 27-year-old on the Here We Go podcast: “I think Gabriel has been underrated for many years. Not now, because now with the goals he’s scoring and the performances he’s doing, he’s probably, for sure, one of the best defenders in the world, but he’s been underrated for a few years.

“And in that moment, also with Edu, the previous director at Arsenal, who did a very good job in bringing him to the club, and also with Mikel Arteta, directly in connection with Gabriel, everyone at Arsenal believes that he’s been underrated for a long time.”

Arsenal rejected a ‘very big proposal’ for Gabriel Magalhaes

Gabriel may not have been popular among rival fans, but clubs across the globe recognise him as one of the best in the business.

The Arsenal number six would walk into most teams in the world today, and there have been offers to lure him away from the Emirates.

Romano revealed that European champions PSG and a club from Saudi Arabia were keen to sign Gabriel last year, but Arsenal closed the door immediately and extended his deal.

“Last summer, not in 2025, but in 2024, there were two possibilities for Gabriel,” Romano said.

“One was to go to Paris Saint-Germain, and the other one was to go to Saudi, with a very big proposal coming from the Saudi Pro League. But Arsenal immediately told Gabriel that he was untouchable. They extended his contract in the following months.

“So, Arsenal always considered Gabriel as a really important part of the squad for the present and future. So, he is absolutely untouchable. He’s very happy at the club.”