Arsenal are increasingly confident they will beat Napoli in the race to sign Lille defender Gabriel Magalhaes.
The Brazilian has excelled in Ligue 1 over the past season and he is now ready to leave France in search of a new challenge.
Both Arsenal and Napoli have made concrete offers for Gabriel and have told Lille they’re ready to meet his asking price of around £22million.
The French club have consequently left it up to the 22-year-old to decide his future and he has been deliberating his options all week.
Arsenal are keen to add to their defence this summer and they are growing in confidence that Gabriel will elect to join them.
The centre-back is attracted to the idea of playing in the Premier League, with his captain at Lille, Jose Fonte, revealing he has been quizzing him about his time in England with Southampton and West Ham.
Gabriel’s arrival will provide Arteta with another left-footed centre-back to compete with Pablo Mari.
The Brazilian’s arrival would also mean Arsenal will need to sell some of their other centre-backs this summer, with Rob Holding and Sokratis two players who could be sold during this window.
