Arsenal handed transfer boost by Gabriel as Barcelona target insists he is ‘at home’ with Gunners

Gabriel has handed Arsenal a transfer boost by admitting he feels “at home” with the Gunners, amid interest from Barcelona.

Defender Gabriel moved to Arsenal from Lille in the summer of 2020, arriving for a fee just north of £20million.

It took the Brazilian time to adapt to life in England, with learning the language impacting his first year, but he has excelled this season.

Gabriel’s form has caught the eye of Barcelona, who want to bolster their defence this summer, but the centre-back is settled at Arsenal.

“Well in my first season I certainly learnt a lot,” Gabriel told Premier League Productions, when asked to sum up his time at Arsenal so far.

“It’s been a real challenge here and I am more and more settled every day. I feel better and better with each passing game. At the same time, we know we all can’t be perfect in every match. We do make mistakes.

“But I feel good, I feel at home at Arsenal. It’s a great squad to be a part of and together I am sure we can achieve a lot. I am very happy here.”

Arsenal are back in action this weekend when they travel to Southampton and they are looking to bounce back from two defeats in a row.

The losses have seen Arsenal slip to fifth in the Premier League and now Tottenham are ahead of the Gunners in the race to qualify for the Champions League, although Spurs’ lead is just three points.

“Reaching the top four is our aim, but we know how tough it will be,” Gabriel added.

“It’s a big challenge but I do believe we can get there. We are working hard and it’s the target we want to achieve. We have to stick together. We need to be focused to get good results.”