Valencia have confirmed the signing of Brazilian centre-back Gabriel Paulista from Arsenal.

La Liga side Valencia have confirmed the signing of Gabriel from Arsenal. The Gunners will reportedly receive around £10m for the centre-back. The Brazilian arrived at the Emirates from Villarreal in January 2015 and made 64 appearances for the club without ever establishing himself as a reliable first choice.

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/898575390209388544

https://twitter.com/valenciacf/status/898575803088343040

Valencia teased the signing a day earlier on Twitter, exciting supporters and leaving others to question which player the Spanish La Liga giants would be announcing. Arsenal won’t be too upset to let him go, however.

https://twitter.com/valenciacf_en/status/897888971803512840

Gabriel proved to be erratic in an Arsenal shirt and only ever played when one of the first choice defenders weren’t available, or to be emergency cover at right-back. The sale does come as a surprise, however, as Gabriel wasn’t listed as one of the players Arsenal were intending to sell this summer, let alone him recovering from a serious knee injury.

It leaves Arsenal a bit short at the back, however, as the squad now only has five centre back for a three centre-back system, two of which are Per Mertesacker who retires next summer and Calum Chambers who has been frozen out. The latter could well return to the fold following Gabriel’s sale.