Gabriel Magalhaes reveals Arteta persuaded him to stay at Arsenal in the summer

At the beginning of this season, Mikel Arteta surprisingly replaced Gabriel Magalhaes in his starting XI.

The defender was one of the key players at the club in the previous term and formed a solid partnership at the back alongside William Saliba.

Yet Arteta surprisingly took him out of the team as he tried new players in a different system.

Gabriel was frustrated, and reports circulated that he might leave the club.

As one of the finest defenders in the league in the previous season, he would not struggle to get a new home, but the Brazilian spoke with Arteta and the gaffer persuaded him to stay.

He said, as quoted by Goal:

“It was tough, obviously at the start. I wanted to play and it was very difficult for me but I understood what the coach had to do. 

“It is difficult for any player to not be in the team but now I’m back in and I want to keep on working hard to prove my worth. [Arteta] spoke to me and obviously explained the reasons behind the decision. 

“Why I should stay – but the most important thing was to remain focused and concentrate – he knew how important I was to the team, so I’m happy to be back and to be able to help the team in every game. I’m happy to be back in the team and hopefully, I can help them moving forward.”

Just Arsenal Opinion

Gabriel was one of our best players last season, so it surprised most of us when he could not get into the team at the start of the term.

He is now one of the first names on the team sheet and will want to keep performing well while Jurrien Timber is injured.

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