Arsenal fans successfully tracked Gabriel Magalhaes’ flight to London on Monday morning, as the player prepares to sign for the Gunners.

Lille's Brazilian defender Gabriel dos Santos Magalhaes (R) fights for the ball with Montpellier's French forward Gaetan Laborde during the French L1 football match between Lille OSC (LOSC) and Montpellier Herault Sport Club (MHSC) at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, on December 13, 2019. (Photo by FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP) (Photo by FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP via Getty Images)
Lille defender Gabriel dos Santos Magalhaes (R) fights for the ball with Gaetan Laborde on December 13, 2019. (Photo by FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/AFP via Getty Images)

Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille in the early part of this week, and fans managed to identify the player’s flight to London on Monday morning.

Twitter user @itsAFCLiam posted “Gabriel has landed”, after spotting a light jet aircraft travelling from Lille to London Luton. The trip by the Brazilian-made Embraer Phenom 300 did seem to fit every requirement for a player travelling between the two clubs.

To make the situation even more hilarious, reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano then confirmed that it was indeed Gabriel travelling to London.

Another fan even claimed to have caught the player on a traffic camera near Luton, though that remains unconfirmed.

It’s all part of the transfer fun. Previous reports suggested Gabriel would hold his medical on Tuesday, but it seems like maybe they were a day off. Francesco Porzio of Di Marzio was reporting a trip to London for Gabriel on Monday all along.

After the medical and the official signature, it’s just a matter of time until the announcement.

It’s not clear whether Gabriel will then be able to feature for Arsenal in training and matches. The current quarantine rules for visitors from France make things awkward. The amended guidance does imply he might be able to get an exemption, but we’ll see.