Arsenal outcast Gabriel is reportedly close to sealing his return to the Spanish La Liga with Valencia. The Brazilian is currently nursing a knee injury which he sustained against Everton in the final league game of last season.
The 26-year-old joined the Gunners from Villareal for £15m back in the winter of 2015, and he has since struggled to establish himself as a regular in the starting lineup.
The centre-back missed the start of the previous campaign with an ankle injury sustained in pre-season, and this limited his opportunities in the first-team with Arsene Wenger opting to play Shkodran Mustafi alongside Laurent Koscielny.
Towards the end of the season, Gabriel impressed as part of a defensive three in the 2-1 FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City, but he blew his chances of making the final after he damaged his knee ligaments in the league’s curtain closer versus Everton.
Gabriel is currently on his recovery path from a knee problem, but according to Marca, he will be shown the exit door with Arsene Wenger looking to reduce the numbers on his first-team squad.
Valencia are said to have prepared a £10m offer for Gabriel, and the deal will be sanctioned before the end of the month with Wenger having plenty of options to choose from in the central defensive department.
Per Mertesacker has got back into the Gunners mix following his FA Cup heroics last term, and the three-at-the-back formation seems to favour the German who could sit behind his other defenders and perform the sweeper’s role.
Rob Holding, Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac have also featured in the back three in the early stages and Gabriel will have the chance to revive his career back in Spain where he made his reputation with Villareal.
