Arsenal have officially confirmed that 24-year-old centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes has signed a new long-term contract with the North London side.
In a statement released by the club, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: “Gabi has shown huge qualities since he joined us. He is a young player with a great work ethic and his consistent strong performances have been hugely important to us over the past two seasons.
“Working with Gabi every day is a pleasure, he has formed strong relationships with everyone at the club and we’re so pleased that he has committed to us on a long-term contract.”
Arteta has previously described the Brazilian as having an “incredible future” with the club, and this new long-term contract suggests that is still very much the case.
Gabriel Magalhaes Signs New Long-Term Arsenal Contract
Committed ✊
We are delighted to announce Gabriel Magalhaes has signed a new long-term deal with us ❤️
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 21, 2022
Building for the Future
Over the last two seasons, there has been a significant shift in Arsenal’s strategy in the transfer market. Gone are the days of the Gunners signing players with their best years behind them; David Luiz, Petr Cech and Willian for example, and instead, Arteta has decided to focus on acquiring talented young players.
Gabriel is just 24 years of age, and his contract extension is likely to be followed by new deals for Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba, with Arsenal confident they can successfully renew the contracts of the talented trio.
The idea is clear at the North London club. They are no longer going to pin their hopes on an ex-world-class player, but rather, intend to nurture the incredibly talented young players already in their squad and develop them into world-class players.
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Thank you 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/HDOqgDlpcr
— Gabriel Magalhaes (@biel_m04) July 24, 2022
Can Gabriel Reach His Full Potential?
Previous comments made by Arteta and the defender’s new long-term contract suggest that the club think so. He has the pace, power, aggression and natural defending ability to reach the very top level.
However, there are still flaws in the 24-year-old’s game. Concentration remains a weakness for Gabriel, with the defender prone to making errors in possession which could have been easily avoided, although that is also in part due to the demands of the manager, which requires his centre-backs to take calculated risks on the ball.
The bigger issue that Gabriel needs to overcome in order to truly fulfil his potential is his ever-present inability to control his temper.
The defender has received two red cards and nine yellow cards during his 68 Premier League appearances for the club, with the Brazilian often making rash tackles under pressure. His ill-discipline nearly cost Arsenal as recently as their last outing in the Premier League, when he needlessly kicked out at Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford in his own box, conceding a penalty and receiving a red card for his outburst, only for VAR to spare his blushes.
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At just 24 years of age, Gabriel Magalhaes has plenty of time to improve and work on the few weaknesses that are present in his game, and if he is able to do that, he will surely be a very important player for Arsenal for the foreseeable future.
