Brazilian footballer (born )
In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Dos Santos and the second or paternal family name is Magalhães.
Gabriel with Lille in | |||
| Full name | Gabriel Dos Santos Magalhães[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | () 19 December (age&#;27)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| Height | &#;m (6&#;ft 3&#;in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
Current team | Arsenal | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| – | Avaí | ||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| – | Avaí | 34 | (2) |
| – | Lille | 39 | (2) |
| – | → Troyes (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| → Dinamo Zagreb (loan) | 1 | (0) | |
| – | Arsenal | (17) | |
| Brazil U20 | 7 | (0) | |
| – | Brazil U23 | 4 | (0) |
| – | Brazil | 13 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of , 18 January (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of , 19 November (UTC) | |||
Gabriel Dos Santos Magalhães (Portuguese pronunciation:[ɡabɾiˈɛwdusˈsɐ̃tuzmaɡaˈʎɐ̃js];[3] born 19 December ), also simply known as Gabriel, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as centre-back for Premier League club Arsenal and the Brazil national team. Known for his strength, aggression, tackling and aerial threat, he is regarded as one of the best centre-backs in the world.[4][5][6][7]
Gabriel began his senior club career at Avaí, having graduated from the club's youth academy in After Avaí achieved promotion to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A the same year, he departed for French side Lille. Gabriel was loaned out to Troyes and Dinamo Zagreb before returning to Lille. In , he signed for Arsenal in a deal worth £27m.[8][9]
Gabriel made his belated international debut with Brazil in He scored his first international goal during FIFA World Cup qualification.[10]
Gabriel Magalhães was born in the Pirituba District of São Paulo. At age 13, Gabriel began his career at Avaí but returned to São Paulo after a week due to homesickness. However, he reconsidered his decision and returned to Avaí after two weeks, eventually going on to earn his first professional contract at age [11] He went on to be part of the team that won promotion to Brasileiro Série A in [12]
On 31 January , Gabriel Magalhães joined Ligue 1 side Lille, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract. When he arrived, Gabriel taught himself French and went on to conduct most of his interviews in the language.[13] After playing several matches for Lille II, he was loaned to fellow Ligue 1 side Troyes,[14] before joining Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb, where he made just one league appearance for each club's senior team.[15]
Gabriel returned to Lille in , starting his first match on 10 February against relegation-threatened Guingamp in a 2–0 win. He went on to make 14 appearances over the course of the season, scoring his first goal for Lille in a 5–1 win against Paris Saint-Germain on 14 April [16]
The following season, Gabriel began to play more regularly, forming a centre-back partnership with José Fonte. Gabriel was a starter in all six of Lille's Champions League group stage matches.[17] On 31 January , he extended his contract with Lille until [18]
Lille manager Christophe Galtier spoke about the defender's patience, saying "I saw he had great potential and he was able to seize the first opportunity he got. He was hungry to play, and while he bided his time, he worked a lot. He's an example for other youngsters to follow. It's a sort of intelligence to behave like that. How often nowadays do you see players not working if they're not in the squad?"[19]
On 1 September , Arsenal announced the signing of Gabriel Magalhães on a long-term contract.[20] Interest in the Brazilian was reportedly high, with multiple clubs willing to match the valuation set by Lille.[21][22] Gabriel joined for a fee reaching the region of £27m after add-ons.[23]
On 12 September, the opening day of the season, Gabriel made his debut for Arsenal, scoring the second goal in a 3–0 win against Fulham at Craven Cottage.[24] Following his performance in Arsenal's 2–1 win against West Ham United on 19 September , Gabriel was awarded Arsenal's player of the month award for September.[25] He won the award again in October after featuring in five of Arsenal's six games in the month.[26] Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta spoke highly of Gabriel's early performances, saying "you move him from France to here at an early age, without talking the language, to adapt to a new way of playing as well [but] he has done it really quickly and is showing a great mentality as well."[27]
Despite Arsenal's poor form in late , Gabriel was awarded his third player of the month award in December after his performances in Arsenal's 1–0 win against Manchester United on 1 November and their 0–0 draw against Leeds United on 22 November.[28] On 29 November, Gabriel scored his first goal at the Emirates during Arsenal's 2–1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.[29] Gabriel received his first red card for Arsenal on 16 December in a home game against Southampton, after being given two yellow cards in the space of five minutes for fouls on Ché Adams and Theo Walcott.[30]
Gabriel played in all but three of Arsenal's Premier League games.[31] He scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 win against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on 30 October [32]
He scored the only goal of the game as Arsenal beat Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on 10 February,[33] and also got the winning goal against West Ham in a 2–1 win at the London Stadium on 1 May.[34] Gabriel finished the season with five Premier League goals.[35]
Gabriel scored the winning goal against Fulham in the Premier League on 27 August He had made a mistake that allowed Aleksandar Mitrović to open the scoring, but his goal in the 86th minute gave Arsenal all three points in a 2–1 win.[36][37] His partnership with William Saliba was a cornerstone of the Gunner's success throughout the season.
On 21 October , Arsenal announced that Gabriel had signed a new long-term contract with the club.[38]
He scored the only goal of the game as Arsenal beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in November.[39] On 12 March , he scored against Fulham again, heading in Arsenal's first goal in their 3–0 win at Craven Cottage. This was his third goal in four games against the Cottagers.[40][41]
On 17 September , Gabriel made his th Premier League appearance in Arsenal's win against Everton at Goodison Park.[42][43] He scored his first goal of the –24 season in a 1–1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield.[44]
Gabriel scored the first two goals in Arsenal's 5–0 win against Crystal Palace on 20 January The second goal had initially been credited as an own goal by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson. Arsenal appealed the decision, and the Premier League's Goal Accreditation Appeals Panel subsequently awarded the goal to Gabriel. It was his first brace for the club.[45][46]
He made his th Arsenal appearance on 11 February, scoring the third goal against West Ham in a 6–0 win at the London Stadium.[47][48]
On 15 September , Gabriel headed in a 64th minute corner in the North London Derby, sealing a 1–0 away win for Arsenal.[49]
The following week, Gabriel scored the second goal of two for Arsenal during a 2–2 away draw at Manchester City.[50] He continued this style of goalscoring, netting headers in consecutive away matches against Sporting C.P. and West Ham in November.[51][52]
Gabriel Magalhães represented Brazil at under level at the South American U Championship.[53][13] On 14 November , he made his international debut with Brazil's under national side in a 3–1 win over South Korea's unders in an international friendly.[54][55] On 17 June , he was named in the squad for the Summer Olympics, but was forced to withdraw with a knee injury on 6 July.[56][57]
In August , Gabriel received his first call-up to the Brazil senior national team by interim head coach Fernando Diniz, for two FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Bolivia and Peru.[58][59] On 12 October , Gabriel scored his first goal for Brazil in a 1–1 draw against Venezuela during the same World Cup qualifications.[60]
Gabriel can play as part of a back three and is known for his partnership with William Saliba.[19] Despite his height, Gabriel is known for being fast. Christophe Galtier spoke about Gabriel, saying "He has a lot of character for a year-old boy. Despite his cm height, he is super fast and covers his side well. He is the player who has won the most aerial duels in the first part of the season."[61] Gabriel is also known for his distribution ability, generally looking to play the ball forward or to the left-back. In the –20 season, Gabriel completed the most passes into the opposition half in all of Ligue 1.[62] According to his Lille teammate and mentor José Fonte, Gabriel "has to keep defending well by being aggressive, being well positioned, and not taking risks."[19]
In September , Gabriel announced his engagement to his partner Gabrielle Figueiredo.[63] The couple got married in June Their daughter was born in March , who they named Maya.[64]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | |||
| 6 | 1 | ||
| 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 13 | 1 | |
Dinamo Zagreb
Arsenal
Individual