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Gabriel Magalhães was at London Colney today and passed his Arsenal medical, according to multiple reports. He was granted special permission to have his medical before starting his 14-day self-isolation period. The British government has a mandatory quarantine policy for individuals arriving from France, so Gabriel will not be able to train with his new teammates for two weeks.
Per Ornstein, it’s a €26m + €4m in add-ons sale for the 22-year old Brazilian centerback, which strikes me as a pretty good deal. Gabriel’s defensive numbers compare favorably to a number of established, well-known centerbacks. He’s also left-footed, which is important for how Mikel Arteta wants to set up his side. When Pablo Mari is healthy, the Gunners will have two left-footed centerbacks, which hardly any team in Europe can boast.
The other bit of news from the Gabriel transfer comes from a quote from his agent.
Guilherme Miranda (agent of Gabriel Magalhaes) tells me:
— Freddie Paxton (@Freddie_Paxton) August 24, 2020
“Arsenal was nowhere near the best proposal [money wise]. Gabriel chose them over more lucrative offers because Edu convinced us of the project. It’s 100% because of Edu Gaspar and Arteta.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a player extol Mikel Arteta’s plan; Willian said something similar when he joined the club. Arteta was also instrumental in getting the players to accept the pay cut back in March. He’s clearly a good communicator and persuasive speaker. Arsenal cannot compete financially with the big dogs in Europe, so it’s nice to have an “x-factor” in Arteta to help get deals over the line.