At the start of the season, Arsenal were prepared to sell a key player and intended to replace him with a Manchester City player.
Arsenal were prepared to let Gabriel Magalhaes leave the club last summer and had targeted former Manchester City star Aymeric Laporte as his replacement.
Despite this, Gabriel has had an outstanding season, forming a strong defensive partnership with William Saliba. Arsenal narrowly missed out on the Premier League title but boasted the best defensive record, conceding only 29 goals in the 2023-24 campaign, thanks largely to the Gabriel-Saliba duo.
Gabriel has been a constant presence in Arsenal’s lineup since September, missing only one game and playing nearly every minute of the league matches since then. However, he was initially left out of the starting XI for the first three games of the season, with Ben White partnering Saliba and Thomas Partey filling in at right-back.
Gabriel’s future was uncertain during this period, with Arsenal anticipating an offer from the Saudi Pro League and considering replacements like Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi and Laporte. However, Manchester City refused to sell Laporte to Arsenal, not wanting to strengthen a direct rival. Laporte eventually joined Al-Nassr in a £27.5 million deal.
After the transfer window closed, Gabriel returned to the starting lineup and contributed to a 3-1 victory over Manchester United. He was named in the Brazil squad for the Copa America but had to leave the field after 60 minutes in the final game of the season against Everton.