Gabriel Magalhaes has completed his £27million transfer to Arsenal from Lille, the Premier League side have announced.
The Brazilian has signed a long-term deal and will wear the number six shirt as he becomes Mikel Arteta’s fourth major signing of the summer.
The club had teased fans by announcing that David Luiz and Willian will be joined by a ‘special guest’ in a group chat video, showing a picture of both players alongside a silhouette with a question mark, saying: ‘You don’t want to miss this one!’
📞 This is Arsenal calling!
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 1, 2020
📺 Join us for a very special video call…
🇧🇷 @DavidLuiz_4
🇧🇷 @WillianBorges88
🇧🇷 ❓ pic.twitter.com/O3WcU7SeN7
Speaking about his new signing, manager Mikel Arteta said Magalhaes had ‘outstanding qualities’ to make the team stronger defensively.
He said: ‘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.’
Technical director Edu added: ‘We are delighted to have signed Gabriel. He is a player we have been studying for a while and he was in demand from many clubs, so we are proud to have agreed and completed this transfer with Lille and the player.
‘Gabriel is a player of high quality and Mikel and his coaches are looking forward to integrating him into the club.’
