Most Gooners would agree that the last two transfer windows have been underwhelming.
There’s a sense that Arsenal missed out on some obvious deals, like signing a clinical striker and a versatile winger, either last summer or even mid-season.
This summer, however, there’s plenty of excitement about what the club might deliver. The expectation is that Arsenal will address key needs: a top-class striker, a high-quality winger, and a midfielder to replace the departing Jorginho (and potentially Thomas Partey).
As the Gunners prepare to dive deep into the transfer market and aim to bring in top-quality stars, one particular comment from David Ornstein should give fans pause for thought.
Ornstein has hinted that a key departure might be on the cards. In his column for The Athletic, where he answered Premier League fans’ questions, the transfer guru said:
“It wouldn’t shock me to see a notable player depart this summer but, at the time of writing, I don’t know who that might be.”
While Ornstein admitted he doesn’t know who this potential departure could be, could it possibly involve Gabriel Magalhães?
Reports suggest that Al-Nasr are keen on the stalwart Arsenal defender. While the club has made it clear they won’t entertain offers—even those as high as £100 million—what if the Saudi Pro League side table a bid exceeding £100 million? Should Arsenal reject it?
It’s hard to argue against accepting a world-record transfer fee for a centre-back, particularly in a summer where Arsenal are rumoured to be targeting marquee signings like Alexander Isak and potentially Bruno Guimarães.
Only an extraordinary bid could see Arsenal prise Isak away from Newcastle, and a major sale by Arsenal might be needed to fund such a move.
With Arsenal’s desperate need for a prolific No. 9—and Isak fitting that profile—would selling Gabriel at a premium to Al-Nasr be a wise move?
Of course, one could argue that letting Gabriel leave would create a significant void in Arsenal’s defence. However, there are options to fill that gap. Riccardo Calafiori could slot in as a left-sided centre-back, and links to Jorrel Hato have also surfaced, suggesting Arsenal could still find a capable partner for William Saliba. Additionally Mikel Merino could take over as a threat in set pieces.
So, what do you think? Is selling Gabriel at a premium the right move to fund Arsenal’s summer ambitions, or is his defensive presence too valuable to lose?
Daniel O
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First let me say, I love Gabriel, but wouldn’t not turn down a 100M offer for him.
For me, the key is what Gabriel want’s to do. There is just so much we could do with over 70M is raw cash or profit from the deal.
Am I convinced that we will be able to use the money wisely. Not so sure.
In answer to the question – No. imo, if we had lost Gabriel this season and used the funds for a clinical striker, for example, I don’t believe the impact on results would have been positive. There’s no reason why we can’t have both and I don’t believe we have to break the bank to get an effective striker.
I would rather sacrifice Saliba if we are cash strapped and it comes to strengthening the team. He would fetch a fair bit more and we could acquire a striker another midfielder or full back. With Timber, White and Califiori we have decent cover for Saliba , although a bit weaker. However we can make up for it by being a lot stronger all across the field. Intelligent decision making is the key. It’s pathetic to think that for the same amount of money that we spent on Harvetz, Viera and Merino, Real Madrid were able to get Rodrygo, Vincencus Jr. and Mbappe. I realise they have the brand appeal to attract quality but what were our guys thinking?
We buy Harvetz, Viera, Jesus, Zinzenko for such high transfer fee and wages is the stupidity of our rookie stubborn manager. While not utilizing and giving away decent player like Pepe on free.
More chance of Saliba attracting that money and leaving arsenal than Gabriel.
Nobody is irreplaceable
If Magalhaes, Saliba, Saka and Martinelli are unwilling to sign the new contracts in the summer, Arsenal should put them in the transfer list
We can, but then we need to replace him, so some cast off/flop will be signed on the last day/last hour, then we have a striker and we leak in tons of goals, then spend another 100M on finding the right CB, and the proverbial “one player short from wining the title” Unless you meant Gabriel (J), and who will pay more than 20M for a 5 match a season player?
You need money,
Gabby J – 10-20M
Fabio – 10-15M
Kiwor – 30M
Tomi – 10M
Nelson – 20M
Lokonga – 10M
Tawares – 10M
That is 100-125M which will not impact the team balance. Plus 80M money from the UCL. Hope Mikel does not blow it away.
Jonathan David for free saves the 100M for replacements for Partey, Jorginho (and a new LB!)
Trossad departure to Saudi would fund Nico to rotate with Martenelli.
Skelly to rotate with Calaufori (if and when he is fit) and the new LB.
Zinny was good in the midfield, maybe he can chip in there.
The core team of Saliba, Gabriel, White/Timber, Odegard, Saka/Ethan needs to be retained at all costs.
TSRS,
You can rule out Jesus and Tomi being sold in the summer, being that they are now long term injury’s.
And judging by Arsenal’s recent player sales history, it’s highly questionable that they would get the fees that your list suggests. 😉👍
Whilst I’m sure Arsenal have more than enough funds to spend £100 million on a striker it would not surprise me at all if Gabriel is sold in the summer, his head was turned last year by the Saudi’s offer of quadrupling his salary, plus it being tax free, which was the real reason he was dropped at the start of the season. Although being possibly the best CB in the PL at present, no one is irreplaceable.
So from having a war chest to having to sell to fund a striker. Gabriel is the soul of this team, and under a wiser manager he should have been made the captain.
To sell him will be to upset Saliba and to further upset the balance of this team.
People may think this is a rumor, but Arteta had an issue with Saliba wasting years of his career on loan. This season, Arteta had an issue with Gabriel, and he was benched and was about to be sold.
So clearly we see where the issue is.
I don’t know how long we will keep making excuses for this level of mediocrity.
Nobody can explain the signing of Caliofori, another injury-prone player from the same club as Tomiyasu. They keep saying they have 700-page dossiers on these transfers, and none showed him to be injury-prone.