Gabriel Magalhaes has confirmed that Manchester United also wanted to sign him last year, but he joined Arsenal instead.
The Brazilian claims he was swayed into making that decision by the love that Arsenal’s fans showed him before he even joined the club.
His fine performances prompted several top clubs to target him at the time as he shined for Lille in France.
The likes of Liverpool, Napoli and Everton were also mentioned in different reports as clubs who wanted to sign him.
The Brazilian eventually moved to the Emirates and says from what he has seen so far, he knows he made the right decision.
He reveals that he always dreamt of playing in the Premier League and when interest from clubs in the competition came, he certainly wanted to make the move.
While United also showed serious interest, he always preferred a move to the Emirates with Arsenal and now hopes to win trophies with them soon.
Speaking to TalkSport about his switch, he said: “I’d always dreamt of playing in the Premier League.
“And everyone knows Arsenal as one of the top clubs in the world.
“It’s true that Manchester United were also interested, but I was always focused on joining Arsenal.
“The fans sent some messages in the build-up and that was very important in my decision.
“Having been here for some time now, I am certain I made the right choice.
“I am very happy here, I’ve made some fantastic friendships and I hope we can win some trophies.”
He has been on good form so far. Hope Ben and him forge a good defensive partnership for this season. With next season William arriving and hopefully(likely not because he might be off already) Mavro, we will have a good young core of CBs. Also not to forget the impressive Ballard and Clarke.
So far Gabriel has been solid, and he’s being vocal and showing leadership at the back.
The young partnerships at the back could be foundational and set us up for the next 8-10 years.
Our back line has been the best part of our squad this year, and glad to see Arteta sticking with the same players and letting them build some chemistry together.