Arsenal have been given a boost in their desire to sign Villarreal defender Gabriel Paulista after the Yellow submarine boss Marcelino admitted the 24-year-old could be sold this January.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said he needs to add to his defensive options this January and the Brazilian could be the man he is looking for.
“I hadn’t considered selling Gabriel, it’s bad news from a sporting point of view,” Marcelino told Spanish radio. “If both Gabriel and the club believe that his sale to Arsenal is the best for all parties, we will accept.”
At the moment the two sides seem far apart with Villarreal sixth in la Liga, not wanting to sell as they try to get Arsenal to pay the defenders 20€ million release clause.
The Gunners however would prefer to pay an initial £6 million with add on to take the fee over £10 million, and are aware of the Brazilians desire to move to the Emirates.
Assuming a compromise is reached between the two clubs the whole deal could come down on whether or not Arsenal can secure a work permit with the rules stating that a non EU passport player must have represented a national team in the FIFA top 70 and have played 75% of the teams matches in the past two years of which Paulista does not qualify.
In the past the Gunners have been forced to send player’s to play in Europe while the work permit process played out with examples of this being Joel Campbell, of Costa Rica, and Mexico’s Carlos Vela.
