Gabriel Dos Santos Magalhaes, born December 19th, 1997 in the Pirituba District of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Gabriel was born into a well-respected and functional family; However, the ever-present temptation of gang-life was something his Mother and Father were extremely cautious of throughout his upbringing.
As a boy Gabriel would often play football in the street with his older brother and other local children. Often, as the youngest of the group, Gabriel would often be overpowered by the older children. But what he lacked in stature he made up for with speed and technical ability.
After being noticed playing in the street, a small group of local parents approached Gabriel’s and recommended they place the young Brazilian in one of the local football academies.
Initially, Gabriel’s father was strongly against the idea, claiming it would impact his academic development. But after witnessing his son playing in a local football tournament, he opted to change his stance and allow his son to pursue his dream of becoming a professional footballer.
“I fell in love with football as a little kid and loved the sport immediately. I played football on the streets with my friends. It is my earliest memories of playing football and I miss the good old fun” – Gabriel Magalhaes
The struggle
Gabriel was offered a place in Avaí Futebol Clube’s youth system at the age of thirteen, following a twelve-hour bus journey to Florianopolis Gabriel arrived at the Avai headquarters. Immediately upon arrival the young Sao Paulo native was heavily struck with homesickness, following multiple conversations with his coaches Magalhaes returned home indefinitely after just two weeks.
Upon his arrival home, Gabriel placed himself into a state of solitude, refusing to speak to his family, rejecting meals and vowing to give up on his childhood dream. Two weeks passed with no change, eventually his concerned father had a conversation that led to Gabriel refocusing and agreeing to return to Avai.
“I told my father that I didn’t want to go back. It was going to be my first time away from them”. But my dad answered: “I won’t force you but note that the opportunity you have is what millions of other people wish they had. I will leave you to think about it. If you still insist on staying at home then you will have to come to work with me every morning”. – Gabriel Magalhaes
As we often hear with so many modern players, Gabriel began career as a striker! Although, following several poor performances his coaches moved him to left-back, a decision that would prove pivotal in a career of the young Brazilian.
In 2016, at the age of sixteen, Gabriel was awarded his first professional contract by Avaí Futebol Clube’s, his first team debut soon followed. Over the 2016/17 season Magalhaes progressed at a rapid rate, showing a maturity beyond his years along with a having a huge growth spurt which resulted in the young Brazilian towering just over 6’2 foot.
That season Avai went on to gain promotion to Brasileiro Serie A, with a now physically dominant Gabriel impressing at every given opportunity. Following a string of impressive performances, Avai’s will to retain the young Sao Paulo native began to be tested, with a several European clubs showing increasing interest.
Viva la France
On January 31st,2017 Gabriel made the move to French side Lille Olympique Sporting Club for a fee of £2.7m signing a four-and-a-half-year deal. Upon his arrival in Lille Gabriel was both fascinated and shocked by the cold French winter climate. Magalhaes immediately submerged himself in the local culture, attending private lessons to learn the language to aid the process of settling with his new club, little did he know that his surroundings would change again before long…
“It took me a while to get used to things in Lille, it was very difficult,” he revealed. “Today I am happy. The coach shows me that I am important for the team, I have responsibilities. Lille is my home now.” – Gabriel Magalhaes
Soon after his arrival, Lille manger Marcelo Bielsa opted to send Gabriel on loan, first to then Ligue 1 side Troyes and then Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb. Both loan spells were extremely underwhelming for all parties involved, with Gabriel making only one senior appearance for both ESTAC and Zagreb.
Gabriel returned to Lille at the closing of 2018, making his long-awaited debut on February 10th, 2019. Totalling fourteen appearances in the remainder of the season which also saw him net his first goal for the club during a 5-1 upset over domestic rivals, Paris Saint-Germain.
During the 2019/20 campaign the Brazilian defender truly started to gain momentum, following multiple injuries, Gabriel was moved from left-back into centre-back alongside seasoned veteran Jose Fonte. Lille manager Christophe Galtier showed faith in Magalhaes by starting him in all six of their UEFA Champions League outings. This provided the young Brazilian a platform to showcase his ability to a global audience.
“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?” – Christophe Galtier
Across the channel
Throughout August of 2020 Gabriel was often one of the hot topics regarding transfer speculation. With Lille feeling the heavy financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, they would look a make profit in any way possible, with Gabriel considered to be one of their most valuable assets. Several clubs showed interest including Napoli, Manchester United and PSG but it was Arsenal that emerged victors in the race for the highly sought-after Brazilian defender.
“He has many qualities which will make us stronger as a defensive unit and as a team, He has proved with Lille that he is a defender with many outstanding attributes and we are looking forward to watching him grow as an Arsenal player.” – Mikel Arteta
On September 1st, 2020 Gabriel Magalhaes was announced as an Arsenal player for a fee of £27m. The club announced the signing by having Magalhaes join his new teammates David Luiz and Willian on a live stream that was broadcast over all social media platforms. An extremely creative idea to unveil Gabriel who was in the midst of his mandatory isolation period following his arrival to London from France.
To the surprise of many, Gabriel made his Arsenal debut on the opening day of the season of the 2020/21 campaign. Following the injury of his new teammate and fellow country man David Luiz Arsenal Boss Mikel Arteta placed faith in his latest addition, and his faith was repaid. Gabriel hit the ground running helping Arsenal collect their first three-points of the season, keeping a clean-sheet and even getting himself on the score sheet.
Gabriel featured again in the second fixture against West Ham. Another commanding performance was displayed and Arsenal fans began growing in greater confidence as to the Brazilian’s ability.
The early signs are indeed promising, Arsenal have so long craved for solidity within its backline. Gabriel presents all the attributes required to make that possible, with many believing the Brazilian is one half of the long-term solution to the defensive crisis at the Emirates Stadium. But for now we can only watch, wait and hope…..
See also: Emiliano Martinez: From Zero to Hero