Gabriel Magalhaes: Arsenal complete signing of Lille defender for £27m

Gunners beat Napoli and Everton to the 22-year-old Brazilian’s signature

Arsenal have completed the £27m signing of centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille on a five-year contract, bringing an end to one of the longest-running sagas of the summer transfer window.

The 22-year-old Brazilian, who has been coveted by a series of clubs across Europe, including Everton and Napoli, has spent the last week in quarantine in London after signing his contract.

Head coach Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu were pivotal in persuading Magalhaes to commit his future to Arsenal, while fellow Brazilians, David Luiz and Willian, announced confirmation of the deal on a live video feed on Tuesday afternoon.

“[Edu and I] had several chats about Arsenal and the new project, we had many good conversations. As the days went by I was getting very excited about it, then I had a call from the coach and that was very reassuring,” Magalhaes said. “I spoke a lot with my family and my agents, I also spoke with some of Lille’s directors, but as I said, this club’s history and traditions and the team project for the next few years were very motivational for my decision to come here.”

Head coach Mikel Arteta added: “We welcome Gabriel to Arsenal. He has many qualities which will make us stronger as a defensive unit and as a team. He has proved with Lille that he is a defender with many outstanding attributes and we are looking forward to watching him grow as an Arsenal player.”

David Luiz and Willian unveiled fellow Brazilian Magalhaes as their latest addition (Facebook/Arsenal)

Everton had agreed a deal Magalhaes back in March only for it to be put on pause due to the coronavirus pandemic. Napoli then moved into pole position, making Magalhaes their No 1 target in the event of star defender Kalidou Koulibaly’s departure.

However, after tracking Magalhaes for several months, Arsenal decided to formalise their interest in a bid to improve their defence, with Edu leading negotiations after the departure of Arsenal’s head of football Raul Sanllehi. Manchester United renewed contact with Magalhaes’ agents just as a deal was close to being completed, but didn’t make an official bid for the defender.

The move leaves Arsenal with seven first-team centre-backs after Pablo Mari’s loan deal was made permanent, while the highly touted William Saliba has returned from a season-long loan at St Etienne.

Despite Arteta’s preference to play five at the back formation, it means there are likely to be outgoings this summer, with Rob Holding close to a loan move to Newcastle.

Meanwhile, Dani Ceballos is set to rejoin the club on a season-long loan deal from Real Madrid, while captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s three-year contract extension is expected to be announced in the near future.