‘Stuff going on’: Journalist shares insight into why Arsenal 25-year-old was dropped by Mikel Arteta

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Charles Watts has shared an insight into why Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes was dropped by Mikel Arteta at the start of the season.

Even though the 25-year-old is ‘one of the best defenders in the world’, and the fact that he formed a strong partnership with William Saliba last season, he found himself on the bench during the opening weeks, with Ben White starting instead.

Arsenal expert Charles Watts shared that the call to bench Gabriel Magalhaes ‘wasn’t purely tactical’ because it was also linked to Saudi Arabia, as he told Inside Arsenal.

In the summer, the Saudi Pro League made a huge dent in the transfer market, with big names from across Europe making the move to the Middle East.

Even though there was a lot of noise about a few Arsenal players, including Thomas Partey, possibly making that switch.

In the end, those in north London didn’t make that move, with Charles Watts sharing what really happened with Gabriel Magalhaes.

Why Gabriel Magalhaes was dropped by Arsenal

“I don’t think it was purely tactical,” said Watts on Gabriel not playing at the start of the season. “I think the Saudi thing was definite. 100%. There was stuff going on.

“I can’t say for certain it was purely because of that. I don’t think it was just tactical, not from what I was hearing. There was certainly stuff going on, and until the Saudi window was shut and everything was sorted, it didn’t surprise me that Gabriel came back into the team after that. Put it that way.

“When you look at it, it just doesn’t make any sense for it to be tactical because Gabriel is one of the best defenders in the world. He has shown that. Him and Saliba are one of the best centre-back partnerships in the world. They have proven that.

“From what I heard, there were other stuff going on as well.”

Gabriel back to his best

It has been a strong start to the season for Gabriel, who helped Arsenal to a much-needed 1-0 win over Manchester City before the international break.

Both Gabriel and William Saliba shut off Man City’s goal machine Erling Haaland and produced a defensive masterclass in their Premier League title push.

And that has transcended itself onto the international stage because Gabriel recently scored his first goal for Brazil.