Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has promised that Gabriel Magalhaes will ‘play a lot’ this season amid questions over his future.
Gabriel Magalhaes still has a key role to play at Arsenal despite rumours surrounding a potential departure.
The Gunners went away to Crystal Palace on Monday night, seeking to make it two wins from two to start the new Premier League season.
This wasn’t an easy game by any stretch of the imagination as Arsenal toiled against a determined Palace side.
The breakthrough came in the second half though as Eddie Nketiah was brought down by Palace stopper Sam Johnstone.
Martin Odegaard stepped up to slot the ball home, handing Arsenal the 1-0 victory at Selhurst Park.
Arsenal had to battle in the later stages as Takehiro Tomiyasu picked up a very debatable red card.
On came Gabriel Magalhaes to try and help Arsenal see the game out, and the Brazilian played a vital role.
Mikel Arteta promises big role for Gabriel Magalhaes
Gabriel was a key player for Arsenal last season but has endured an unexpectedly low-key start to the campaign.
The 25-year-old was left on the bench against Nottingham Forest and Mikel Arteta went with the same again versus Palace.
Gabriel was called upon when Tomiyasu was given his marching orders and didn’t let his side down.
Two blocked shots, one clearance and one tackle; Gabriel certainly made his presence felt.
This cameo came amid strong rumours that Gabriel could be on his way out of Arsenal very soon.
Reports from the Daily Mail claim that Real Madrid have a very genuine interest in signing Gabriel after losing Eder Militao to injury.
The Mirror reported just last week that Gabriel is a target for Saudi Arabian clubs and Arsenal are aware of the interest.
Gabriel’s bench role to start the season left some wondering whether the £27million signing from Lille could be on his way out.
Arsenal boss Arteta has now told Arsenal’s official website that Gabriel’s demotion to the bench is nothing to do with the transfer speculation.
Arteta does though see a big role for Gabriel moving forward, promising that he is going to play ‘a lot’ for Arsenal this season having ‘absolutely dominated’ against Palace.
“Nothing at all, it’s about games that we were expecting, how we were going to defend and attack and what I believe is the best thing,” said Arteta. “He’s played in both games and helped us to win both games for different reasons. He was really good today, he absolutely dominated the box when he came on and he’s going to play a lot of games,” he added.
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