Gabriel dos Santos Magalhães (; born 19 December 1997), also simply known as Gabriel, is a Brazilian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and the Brazil national team. Regarded as one of the best centre-backs in the world, he is known for his strength, aggression, tackling and aerial threat. Gabriel began his senior club career at

Avaí Avaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 5,436 (2020 est.) in an area of 540 km2. Media In telecommunications, the city was served by Companhia Telefônica Brasileira until 1973, when it began to be serve ...

, having graduated from the club's youth academy in 2016. After Avaí achieved promotion to the

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

the same year, he departed for French side

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. Gabriel was loaned out to

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

and

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

before returning to Lille. In 2020, he signed for

in a deal worth £27m. Gabriel made his belated international debut with

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in 2023. He scored his first international goal during

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will decide the 45 teams that will join hosts Canada men's national soccer team, Canada, Mexico national football team, Mexico, and the United States men's national soccer team, United States at the 2026 FIFA ...

Club career

Avaí

Gabriel Magalhães was born in the Pirituba District of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. At age 13, Gabriel began his career at

but returned to São Paulo after a week due to homesickness. However, he reconsidered his decision and returned to Avaí after two weeks, eventually going on to earn his first professional contract at age 16. He went on to be part of the team that won promotion to Brasileiro Série A in 2017.

Lille

On 31 January 2017, Gabriel Magalhães joined

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

side

, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract. When he arrived, Gabriel taught himself French and went on to conduct most of his interviews in the language. After playing several matches for Lille II, he was loaned to fellow

side

, before joining Croatian side

, where he made just one league appearance for each club's senior team. Gabriel returned to Lille in 2018, starting his first match on 10 February 2019 against relegation-threatened

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 7,115 as of 2020, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guin ...

in a 2–0 win. He went on to make 14 appearances over the course of the season, scoring his first goal for Lille in a 5–1 win against

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

on 14 April 2019. The following season, Gabriel began to play more regularly, forming a centre-back partnership with

José Fonte José Miguel da Rocha Fonte (born 22 December 1983) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains Primeira Liga club Casa Pia. He started his professional career with Sporting CP B, moving to England with ...

. Gabriel was a starter in all six of Lille's Champions League group stage matches. On 31 January 2020, he extended his contract with Lille until 2023. Lille manager

Christophe Galtier Christophe Galtier (; born 23 August 1966) is a French professional football manager and former player who recently was the head coach of Qatar Stars League club Al-Duhail. A defender, Galtier spent many of his 15 years as a player at Marseille ...

spoke about the defender's patience, saying "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?"

Arsenal

On 1 September 2020, Arsenal announced the signing of Gabriel Magalhães on a long-term contract. Interest in the Brazilian was reportedly high, with multiple clubs willing to match the valuation set by Lille. Gabriel joined for a fee reaching the region of £27m after add-ons.

2020–21 season

On 12 September, the opening day of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, Gabriel made his debut for Arsenal, scoring the second goal in a 3–0 win against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...

. Following his performance in Arsenal's 2–1 win against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

on 19 September 2020, Gabriel was awarded Arsenal's player of the month award for September. He won the award again in October after featuring in five of Arsenal's six games in the month. Arsenal manager

Mikel Arteta Mikel Arteta Amatriain (born 26 March 1982) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of club Arsenal F.C., Arsenal. Arteta began his senior club career ...

spoke highly of Gabriel's early performances, saying "you move him from France to here at an early age, without talking the language, to adapt to a new way of playing as well... uthe has done it really quickly and is showing a great mentality as well." Despite Arsenal's poor form in late 2020, Gabriel was awarded his third player of the month award in December after his performances in Arsenal's 1–0 win against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

on 1 November and their 0–0 draw against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

on 22 November. On 29 November, Gabriel scored his first goal at the

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...

during Arsenal's 2–1 defeat to

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. Gabriel received his first red card for Arsenal on 16 December in a home game against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, after being given two yellow cards in the space of five minutes for fouls on

Ché Adams Ché Zach Everton Fred Adams (born 13 July 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Torino and the Scotland national team. Adams began his senior career in non-league football with Oadby Town and Ilkeston before mo ...

and

Theo Walcott Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented England at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2012 and won 47 caps, scoring eight goals. Walcott currently appears as a cl ...

2021–22 season

Gabriel played in all but three of Arsenal's

games. He scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 win against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

at the

King Power Stadium King Power Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England, and the home of Leicester City. The stadium opened in 2002 as the Walkers Stadium and has a capacity of 32,259. The club attracted worldwide attenti ...

on 30 October 2021. He scored the only goal of the game as Arsenal beat Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on 10 February, and also got the winning goal against West Ham in a 2–1 win at the

London Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as the Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is loc ...

on 1 May. Gabriel finished the season with five Premier League goals.

2022–23 season

Gabriel scored the winning goal against Fulham in the

on 27 August 2022. He had made a mistake that allowed

Aleksandar Mitrović Aleksandar Mitrović ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Митровић, ; ; born 16 September 1994) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal and the Serbia national team. A youth product a ...

to open the scoring, but his goal in the 86th minute gave Arsenal all three points in a 2–1 win. His partnership with William Saliba was a cornerstone of the Gunners' success throughout the season. On 21 October 2022, Arsenal announced that Gabriel had signed a new long-term contract with the club. He scored the only goal of the game as Arsenal beat Chelsea at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...

in November. On 12 March 2023, he scored against Fulham again, heading in Arsenal's first goal in their 3–0 win at Craven Cottage. This was his third goal in four games against the ''Cottagers.''

2023–24 season

On 17 September 2023, Gabriel made his 100th Premier League appearance in Arsenal's win against Everton at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

. He scored his first goal of the 2023–24 season in a 1–1 draw with

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

. Gabriel scored the first two goals in Arsenal's 5–0 win against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

on 20 January 2024. The second goal had initially been credited as an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

by Palace goalkeeper

Dean Henderson Dean Bradley Henderson (born 12 March 1997) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for club Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace and the England national football ...

. Arsenal appealed the decision, and the Premier League's Goal Accreditation Appeals Panel subsequently awarded the goal to Gabriel. It was his first brace for the club. He made his 150th Arsenal appearance on 11 February, scoring the third goal against West Ham in a 6–0 win at the London Stadium.

2024–25 season

On 15 September 2024, Gabriel headed in a 64th minute corner in the

North London derby The North London derby is the meeting of the association football clubs Arsenal F.C., Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, both of which are based in North London, England. Fans of both clubs consider the other to be their main ...

, sealing a 1–0 away win for Arsenal. The following week, Gabriel scored the second goal of two for Arsenal during a 2–2 away draw at

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. He continued this style of goalscoring, netting headers in consecutive away matches against Sporting C.P. and

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

in November. In April 2025, Gabriel suffered a hamstring injury during a 2–1 win against Fulham, which would sideline him for the remainder of the season. On 6 June, Gabriel signed a new long-term deal with Arsenal.

International career

Magalhães represented Brazil at under-20 level at the

2017 South American U-20 Championship The 2017 South American Youth Football Championship (, ) was the 28th edition of the South American Youth Football Championship, a football competition for the under-20 national teams in South America organized by CONMEBOL. It was held in Ecuador f ...

. On 14 November 2020, he made his international debut with Brazil's under-23 national team in a 3–1 victory against South Korea's under-23s in an international friendly. On 17 June 2021, he was named in the squad for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, but was forced to withdraw with a knee injury on 6 July. In August 2023, Magalhães received his first call-up to the Brazil senior national team by interim head coach

Fernando Diniz Fernando Diniz Silva (born 27 March 1974) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the head current coach of Vasco da Gama. Diniz is widely recognized in Brazil for his unique style of tact ...

, for two

matches against

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. On 12 October 2023, Magalhães debuted in a 1–1 draw against

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

during the same tournament, where he also happened to score his first goal.

Style of play

Gabriel can play as part of a back three and is known for his partnership with William Saliba. Despite his height, Gabriel is known for being fast.

spoke about Gabriel, saying "He has a lot of character for a 22-year-old boy. Despite his 190cm height, he is super fast and covers his side well. He is the player who has won the most aerial duels in the first part of the season." Gabriel is also known for his distribution ability, generally looking to play the ball forward or to the left-back. In the 2019–20 season, Gabriel completed the most passes into the opposition half in all of Ligue 1. According to his Lille teammate and mentor

, Gabriel "has to keep defending well by being aggressive, being well positioned, and not taking risks."

Personal life

In September 2021, Gabriel announced his engagement to his partner Gabrielle Figueiredo. The couple got married in June 2023. Their daughter was born in March 2022, who they named Maya. Magalhães is also cousin of the professional footballer Denner.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Brazil score listed first, score column indicates score after each Gabriel goal.''

Honours

Dinamo Zagreb *

Prva HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...

: 2017–18 *

Croatian Cup Croatian Cup may refer to: *Croatian Football Cup *Croatian Football Super Cup *Croatian Women's Football Cup *Croatian Basketball Cup, also known as Krešimir Ćosić Cup *Croatian Handball Cup *Croatian Water Polo Cup The Croatian Water Polo C ...

: 2017–18 Arsenal *

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

2023–24 Premier League The 2023–24 Premier League was the 32nd season of the Premier League and the 125th season of English football overall. The season began on 11 August 2023, and concluded on 19 May 2024. Manchester City, the defending champions, won their f ...

* ''The Athletic'' Premier League Team of the Season: 2023–24,2024–25

References

External links

Profile
at the Arsenal F.C. website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magalhaes, Gabriel 1997 births Living people Footballers from São Paulo Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Avaí FC players Lille OSC players ES Troyes AC players GNK Dinamo Zagreb players GNK Dinamo Zagreb II players Arsenal F.C. players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Ligue 1 players Croatian Football League players Premier League players Brazil men's under-20 international footballers Brazil men's international footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in France Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France 2024 Copa América players 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen