Arsenal are now expecting to receive a bid from Saudi Arabia for defender Gabriel Magalhaes very soon.
The Athletic journalist James McNicholas was speaking on the Arsecast Podcast about the interest in the Brazilian international.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has had to make several big decisions with his team selection so far this season.
Without Gabriel Jesus, Arteta has gone with Eddie Nketiah up top as opposed to Kai Havertz, who has instead dropped into midfield.
Jurrien Timber and then Takehiro Tomiyasu were selected ahead of Kieran Tierney at left-back in Oleksandr Zinchenko’s absence.
However, one choice many Arsenal fans didn’t even realise would be a dilemma for Arteta is at centre-back.
With William Saliba now fully fit, he was expected to join Gabriel Magalhaes in the middle of defence.
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Gabriel has spent both Premier League games starting on the bench and that might be because Arsenal are braced to receive a bid for him.
There has been reported interest in the £27m man, with Real Madrid linked with a move.
It turns out the club are instead preparing to receive an offer from Saudi Arabia who have been hoovering up Premier League talent all summer.
Arsenal ready for Gabriel bid
Speaking about the 25-year-old’s future, McNicholas said: “The interest is 100% real, there is interest from Saudi Arabia in taking Gabriel there, probably for an absolutely eye-watering salary.
“And Arsenal have been aware for a couple of weeks that they expect a bid to be incoming.
“Now, of course, Gabriel is under long-term contract and when you’ve got a player under long-term contract, you’ve got the power to say, ‘Absolutely not, this player is not for sale’.
“I hope that is what Arsenal do in this situation because you can always sell a player and you can always find somebody else.
“Whether or not you can find the appropriate player in the fortnight from the transfer deadline when many of the best players in that position have already moved in this transfer window, I just don’t know, I don’t think you can.”
It would be a huge surprise to see Arsenal accept a bid for Gabriel this late in the transfer window.
He only signed a new contract in October and appears to be a long-term part of Mikel Arteta’s plans.
However, it’s hard to ignore that Arteta hasn’t been starting him, even if he dismissed the rumours last night.
Anything can happen in the transfer window though and the figure offered by the Saudi Arabian club in question could ultimately make Arsenal’s decision for them.