Gabriel Magalhaes says he rejected many clubs to join Arsenal after Edu called him

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Gabriel Magalhaes says he rejected many clubs to join Arsenal after Edu Gaspar expressed his interest to sign him back in the summer of 2020.

The Brazilian has been a regular since he joined us from Lille over two years ago. He has had his ups and downs in an Arsenal shirt, but he has mostly been solid and is now a very important part of our squad.

Gabriel says he rejected many clubs to join Arsenal after Edu called him

Gabriel spoke to Arsenal’s official website about his rise to fame over the years.

After growing up as a little boy in Sao Paulo, he joined Avai – a second-tier Brazilian side. He then secured a move to French club Lille, from where Arsenal snapped him up in 2020.

Gabriel has revealed that multiple clubs wanted to sign him that summer, but after Edu called him and told him about Arsenal’s interest, he didn’t think twice.

He said: “I always knew Arsenal was a very big club. I had offers from other clubs, but my preference was certainly to come to Arsenal. I knew how big the club was and all about the aims and ambitions. Talks were very positive from the beginning and I’m thrilled to be here.

“I spoke to my father and my agent at the time. When other offers came in, we thought hard about them but as soon as we found out that Arsenal were interested and Edu called me, I didn’t think twice.”

“I’ve learnt so much since I got here and over the last two seasons. I knew about the situation that the club was in when I joined, which wasn’t the best, but ever since first wearing this jersey, I’ve had ambitions – big ambitions.

“I have the desire to win trophies here at Arsenal and leave my mark on a club that welcomed me as much as possible. It’s a club that I love and that my family loves. There are certainly big ambitions here.”

The Insider’s View:

Gabriel hasn’t had the best of seasons so far. He has made plenty of mistakes already and those errors have been magnified due to the brilliance of the man next to him.

William Saliba’s arrival has lifted the standards of defending at Arsenal. The Frenchman has been absolutely sensational and his excellent defending has, at times, made Gabriel look like the less-experienced defender.

Gabriel, however, is a fantastic centre-half in his own right. When he’s in form, he is absolutely incredible, but he just seems to be struggling with his decision-making at the moment, which should pass sooner rather than later.

When the Brazilian is back to his best again, he and Saliba could surely form one of the best defensive partnerships in the country.