UEFA defender Gabriel has insisted he is “very happy” at the club, after Juventus expressed an interest in signing him this summer.
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After selling Matthijs de Ligt to Bayern Munich last month, Juve were in the market for a centre-back and identified Gabriel as a target.
The Brazilian has impressed since joining Arsenal in 2020 from Lille, and the Serie A giants wanted to see if he would be tempted by a move to Italy.
A deal never took off, however, and Juve opted for Turin centre-back Gleison Bremer instead, with Gabriel revealing he never wanted to leave Arsenal.
“It’s always nice to be recognised, but I’m really focused on Arsenal,” he said. “I am very happy here. I have good relations with my teammates and I am fully involved in the project.
“I think the Premier League is definitely one of the toughest leagues to play in and I would say I’ve definitely improved a lot since coming here.
“The first year was a little more difficult, in terms of integration. That’s not to say second year was easy, but it was definitely better. My English improved, I was able to communicate better with my teammates on the pitch. I think I’ve improved a lot, but there’s still a lot of room for more improvement. I’m working hard and I’m very focused to keep doing this.
Gabriel is excited about Arsenal’s chances this season, not least because they have signed Brazilian team-mate Gabriel Jesus.
“When we were on international duty, we discussed his future and I was like, ‘Come to Arsenal! Come to Arsenal! “I may have had a bit of influence there,” he told Sky Sports. “He came here with high expectations. He wants to achieve great things with Arsenal.
The Gunners kicked off the new season with a win at Crystal Palace last week, and they hope to build on that when they host Leicester tomorrow.
Mikel Arteta’s side have had a great pre-season, doing their transfer business early, but, by contrast, Leicester have struggled.
The Foxes are generally shrewd operators in the transfer market, however, they have yet to sign a single player this summer and much of the transfer window has been dominated by speculation like James Maddison, Wesley Fofana and Yuri Tielemans could leave.
“Speculation can affect the whole group if you don’t manage it,” said their manager, Brendan Rodgers. “The message is to keep your eye on the ball and focus on your football. »
And nothing should sharpen Leicester’s spirit more than a trip to face an Arsenal side dreaming of returning to the Champions League and welcoming fans to the Emirates Stadium for the first time this season.
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