Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown believes Gabriel Magalhaes is the future and is backing his old club to get a deal done for the centre-back.
The 22-year-old is at the centre of a transfer battle between Arsenal and Napoli as both teams look to bolster their central defensive options before the summer window closes at the beginning of October.
However, recent reports have indicated that the Gunners are said to be closing in on the Lille centre-back and a deal could be completed in the coming days.
“I sincerely hope so. You look at him there in a white shirt, we will be seeing him in a red shirt,” Keown said when asked about the transfer on BT Sport.
“He’s really strong, quick, left-footed. I saw him play against Chelsea for Lille last season.
“A magnificent player who is the future. He sees danger. He’s the future.
“I sincerely hope the transfer does go through and he becomes an Arsenal player.
“That will really secure them at the back and whether it is three or a four, this lad can play in either system.”
Lille's president Gerard Lopez has already confirmed that several clubs had met their asking price for the Brazilian and is expecting a decision fairly soon.
"He [Gabriel] is one of the players that we allowed to exit the club this summer, he asked for it and wants to try something else," Lopez told Sky Sports.
"We clearly told him what our expectations were, we spoke to a number of clubs, our expectations were met by a number of clubs and we have given him the time to decide.
"It is going to be entirely his decision.
"We tend to try and steer our players in certain directions, but at the end of the day it's the player's decision. I know he is going to make a decision early next week.
