Arsenal defensive target Gabriel Paulista has come out to the press today, stating that his agent is hard at work to see if a deal to move him to the Emirates is possible.
This comes following his claims last week that playing in England would be a “dream” move for him, when asked about possible Arsenal interest.
Speaking earlier, Paulista stated:
"I am calm with regards to my future. My head is in Villarreal, but my agent is working. If I go to Arsenal or stay, I'll be calm. We will see."
This seems like a much more relaxed Paulista as opposed to last week where he seemed very excited about a possible move to the Emirates. It is unclear to what this could mean. Perhaps Arsenal are pulling out of the deal or he got a good talking to by his current club, Villarreal, about his professionalism.
According to Spanish newspaper Marca, Villarreal are quite reluctant to sell this defender in the current window. If this deal were to go through, according to the source, Villarreal would need to receive a decent, economical fee for the defender and they would also need a replacement already in place to cope with the absence of Paulista.
Once again Paulista main issue, his work permit, is still unspoken of. This is still the main stumbling block in the entire deal and there is no word on whether it is even close to being sorted out. If Arsenal want to sign the defender they need his work permit sorted ASAP. The Spanish source went on to say that if a deal for Paulista went through, it could well be very profitable for the Spanish side.
This seems like a complicated deal for it to work out; it’s very dependent on factors outside of Arsenal’s control, something Wenger will not like in the slightest.