Gabriel speaks out on his Arsenal future as Barcelona prepare transfer move

Gabriel Magalhaes has handed Arsenal a boost by insisting he is ‘very happy’ at the club’ and ‘feels at home’ amid interest from Barcelona.

The Brazilian has enjoyed an impressive season at the Emirates, forming a solid centre-back partnership with Ben White to help Arsenal challenge for the top four.

Gabriel’s form has caught the eye of Barcelona boss Xavi, who wants to strengthen his defence this summer as the Spanish giants continue their rebuild.

But Gabriel says he is settled in north London and believes he can contribute to a successful Arsenal side under Mikel Arteta side in the coming years.

Asked to sum up his time at Arsenal so far, Gabriel told Premier League Productions: ‘Well in my first season I certainly learnt a lot.

‘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.’

Only last month, Arsenal looked set to secure their Champions League return as they emerged as the favourites to finish fourth ahead of top-four rivals Manchester United, Tottenham and West Ham.

But the Gunners have suffered successive defeats to Crystal Palace and Brentford to slip to fifth, three points behind north London rivals Spurs.

‘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.’

Arsenal will be desperate to return to winning ways on Saturday when they travel to St Mary’s to face Southampton, who were thrashed 6-0 by Chelsea last weekend.

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