Arsenal have officially completed the signing of Gabriel Paulista from Villarreal for an undisclosed fee. We have the photos of him posing in the Arsenal shirt for the first time.
The deal is thought to have cost Arsenal £11.2million plus the 5 month loan of Joel Campbell in exchange.
Arsene Wenger and his team managed to negotiate the fee as slightly below Gabriel’s £15million release clause, which Villarreal were originally demanding. He is expected to earn around £80,000 per-week on his 4 and a half year deal with the Gunners.
The Brazilian defender completed a medical with the Gunners on Monday and Arsenal ironed out work permit issues on Tuesday. The deal has finally been confirmed officially by the club today.
Thierry Henry has backed the transfer suggesting that Gabriel is a ‘special’ player: “Arsenal are going to get a young but polished player. I’ve heard he is a special talent.”
Just a tip, refer to Gabriel Paulista as Gabriel rather than Paulista, it’s a Brazilian thing.