Gabriel Paulista

Arsenal Sign Brazilian Defender In A Swap Deal With Striker

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Premier League Giants Arsenal have inked their first signing of the winter transfer window after they agreed for a £15 million deal with Spanish side Villarreal for the Brazilian defender Gabriel Paulista, which features striker Joel Campbell joining the Spanish out-fit on loan for the rest of the season. Now the headache for the North London based team is to get the work Permit for the defender as soon as possible. Paulista will be a good back up for defenders Per Mertasacker and Laurent Koscielny in the back line as the Premier League moves into the most important stage.

Now, with the arrival of Paulista, Wenger need not replace them with a make shift centre back if either of them gets injured or suspended. The news comes after Paulista was left out of Villarreal’s 18-man squad to face Levante last night.

The Spanish side confirmed the swap in their officially verified twitter account by saying: ‘ The principle of agreement for the transfer of Gabriel with @Arsenal has been completed. He will say his goodbyes today before the party. good luck!’ They also announced that Joel Campbell will be playing for them as they tweeted: ‘Welcome @joel_campbell12 to Villarreal as Arsenal agree to loan the player until the end of the season!’

Joel Campbell signed for Arsenal in 2011 from Costa Rican club Saprissa and was loaned out to France’s Lorient, Spain’s Real Betis and finally Greece’s Olympiackos. He was one of his country’s star players in the 2014 FIFA World Cup where Costa Rica reached the Quarter-Finals before he was called back by Arsenal this season. He hardly started for the Gunners this season and has only 10 appearances under his belt without scoring a single goal. He was the fourth striker in Arsenal behind Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck and Yaya Sanogo. Sanogo was loaned out to Crystal Palace in the transfer window.

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