Is Gabriel Magalhaes for sale? Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta responds to Real Madrid & Saudi Arabia transfer talk raging around Brazilian defender

The Brazil international defender is generating exit talk at Emirates Stadium after surprisingly dropping out of the Gunners’ starting XI in the early weeks of the 2023-24 campaign. Having been a regular since his arrival from Lille in 2020, the 25-year-old has become the unfortunate victim of a tactical tweak from Arteta.

Gabriel has, however, figured off the bench for Arsenal in their opening wins over Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace – suggesting that he does still have an important role to play. That has done little to quash the rumours linking him with a move to Spain or the Middle East, but his manager is reluctant to be dragged into that debate.

Quizzed on Gabriel’s future following a hard-fought 1-0 win away at London rivals Palace, Arteta told reporters: “It’s about the games that we were expecting, what I was expecting, how we wanted to defend and attack and our belief it was the best thing. He’s played in both games, he’s helped us to win both games for different reasons. He was really good, he absolutely dominated the box. He’s going to play a lot of games. That’s the decision sometimes.” When pressured further on whether Arsenal would look to sell the defender before the summer window closes, Arteta merely shook his head.

Gabriel signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal less than a year ago, with those terms due to keep the South American centre-half in north London through to 2027.