Arsenal are reportedly prepared to offload defender Gabriel, should the right offer come in for his services. The Brazilian is currently attracting interest from Valencia with manager Marcelino keen on luring him back to the Spanish La Liga.
Gabriel joined the Gunners from Villareal for £11.3m back in January 2015, but he has since played a bit-part role in the starting lineup. The 26-year-old has also had his fair share of injuries and this has prevented him from becoming a regular when he is in the best of form.
According to The Sun, the north London giants are willing to cash in on Gabriel this summer as he is not important to Arsene Wenger’s plans for the upcoming league season.
Arsenal started with Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker and Nacho Monreal in the back three for the Community Shield, and the club now have sufficient depth with Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi likely to return to the lineup, while left wing-back Sead Kolasinac can also feature in the position.
The 26-year-old is currently recovering from a knee injury sustained in the final league game of last season against Everton, and he may not make another Arsenal appearance with the club willing to accept a £10m sum for his services.
Valencia are, for now, deemed favourites to pursue the central defender with manager Marcelino recently admitting that the club could pursue deals for Gabriel, Ivan Marcano (Porto) and Jeison Murillo (Inter Milan).
“I think they are possible. We’re talking about important players who already know our league. They speak Spanish, and that’s important, so their adaptation would be very quick.” he told reporters h/t Evening Standard.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is looking to trim his first-team squad which involves around 32 players, and the likes of Mathieu Debuchy, Carl Jenkinson, Kieran Gibbs, Lucas Perez and Calum Chambers could be shown the exit door before this month’s transfer deadline.
