Mikel Arteta says £27m Arsenal player has come such a long way at N5

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has praised Gabriel Magalhaes for developing into such a great player and person.

The Gunners boss, speaking to the club’s media team, said the 26-year-old “changed a lot of things” since first arriving at the Emirates Stadium.

Gabriel has won Arsenal’s Player of the Month award in January, the fourth time he has picked up the accolade.

The Brazil international is also set to make his 150th appearance for the Gunners if he features against West Ham United on Sunday.

Both of these facts point to a player that is indispensable for Arsenal, but six months ago, things could have been very different.

Gabriel was left out of the Gunners’ first three Premier League games of the season, leading to doubts over his future.

Arteta initially opted to partner William Saliba with Ben White, and also experimented with Thomas Partey at right-back.

Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes has ‘improved his mentality’

With the Premier League season starting during the summer transfer window, there was speculation over whether Arsenal could potentially sell Gabriel.

As per football.london, the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Ittihad were linked with a move for the former Lille powerhouse.

Nothing came of the speculation as Gabriel stayed at Arsenal, and since then, he has never looked back.

Asked how his influence has grown on and off the pitch over the past few years, Arteta said: “A lot of things have happened to him.

“His role in the team has grown. His personal life is also very different to the one he had before with his family and his language.

“He also changed a lot of things in his life and improved his mentality. He can decide what he wants to be and I think he made the right call to take the direction he took.”

In the current Arsenal squad, only Bukayo Saka has started more games for the Gunners than Gabriel, who has started 142 matches and came on in the other seven.

He has also scored three times this season, and no defender has netted as many goals as him in the Premier League since he made his debut, away to Fulham in September 2020.