Gabriel Magalhaes has signed for Arsenal and is currently in quarantine, according to David Ornstein of The Athletic.
Ornstein confirmed last week that Arsenal paid Lille €26m + €4m in add-ons for the 22-year old, left-footed Brazilian centerback. As had previously been reported, because Gabriel was in France prior to signing, he has to complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine period, Short Fuse Reports.
🗞 Central defender Gabriel has joined us from French side Lille on a long-term contract!
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 1, 2020
The U.K. government reportedly gave him special dispensation to travel to London Colney to complete his medical last week. But it seems like Arsenal are going to wait for him to clear quarantine to officially announce his arrival.
Based on the timeframe in the reporting, Gabriel should be out of quarantine sometime mid to late next week. Looking at the schedule, I think that the Carabao Cup 3rd round match on September 22nd/23rd is the most likely date for his club debut. At that point, he’ll have 2.5 weeks of first team training under his belt. With David Luiz, Rob Holding, and William Saliba all available to start the season, there’s no reason to rush Gabriel onto the pitch.
(C) Control TV 2020.
