Arsenal is on the verge of completing a £27 million move for Brazilian defender Gabriel this summer (The Mail).
The Gunners had been in serious competition for his signature with the likes of Manchester United and Napoli also interested in signing him.
The defender has reportedly chosen to join Arsenal and The Telegraph claims that Arsenal fans played an important role in making him choose to come to the Emirates.
His agent revealed recently that Arsenal didn’t offer the most lucrative terms in the race to sign him, but Edu and Mikel Arteta are said to have helped the defender decide to join them.
Edu and Arteta had repeatedly called him to inform him about how much they needed him on their team and that made him feel wanted.
The report claims that Arsenal’s fans also bombarded him with messages pleading for him to make the move to their beloved club and that may have also influenced his decision.
Gabriel is a left-sided defender and will offer the Gunners important squad depth that they have missed since Pablo Mari got injured.
He will be the second Ligue 1 defender that will debut for Arsenal this season when he joins because this will also be William Saliba’s first season at the Emirates.
