As Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães seems to have conquered a place in Brazil’s starting line-up, he’s now held a press conference ahead of the match against Uruguay.
With the national team showing a new playing style since the arrival of manager Fernando Diniz, the Gunners centre-back was asked whether the new boss shares any similarities with Mikel Arteta, and ended up agreeing with that. The quotes come from Globo Esporte.
“Nowadays, that’s what football asks of you, to have possession of the ball and play out wide,” Gabriel Magalhães explained.
“Of course, there are some things that are similar to the work we do at Arsenal, but there are some things that are different. Every day we try to learn as much as we can from Diniz, a spectacular person who is here to help everyone.”
Gabriel Magalhães was asked about the frustration of not winning the Premier League title with Arsenal last season, and insisted the Gunners are in the right path to fight for it again. He also talked about facing the Uruguayan stars.
“I know that everything is in God’s time. Last year we lost a title, we were sad, but this season we’ve started well, winning a title. I’m certainly happy about my first goal in the Seleção shirt, it’s a dream for me and my family to be here. I’m very happy with what I’m experiencing.
“We know their quality, players who have played at a very high level, but we have to be prepared for what lies ahead. I’m at Arsenal and I always come up against great players, that’s no problem. I’ve played against Darwin Nuñez, we know his quality, but he’s got a clear head, it’s going to be a tough game, but we’re prepared.”
Gabriel Magalhães had first been called up by the national team in 2021, but didn’t play back then and stayed out of the squad for a long time.
It was in September 2023, when Diniz took charge, that the defender was called up again. Since then, he started in all of their three games, and even scored a goal against Venezuela last week.
With him also being an important piece for Arteta, he should be back in action with Arsenal on Saturday, in the away game against Chelsea.
