Arsenal sign Brazilian central defender Gabriel from Lille

LONDON - Arsenal have confirmed the signing of 22-year-old Brazilian central defender Gabriel dos Santos Magalhaes from French Ligue 1 outfit Lille for a fee of approximately $36 million.

The London-based outfit held off interest from Manchester United and Napoli to seal their second major signing of the summer after the arrival of Willian from Chelsea, while their squad will be further strengthened by the arrival of William Saliba, who spent last season on loan at St Etienne after joining from the French team a year ago.

"We welcome Gabriel to Arsenal, he has many qualities which will make us stronger as a defensive unit and as a team," commented Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta on the club's website.

"He has proved with Lille that he is a defender with many outstanding attributes and we are looking forward to watching him grow as an Arsenal player," added the coach, who could also see Spanish midfielder Dani Ceballos return on loan from Real Madrid in the coming days.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, newly promoted West Bromwich Albion are close to completing the signing of striker Grady Diangana from West Ham United, while Aston Villa have agreed a fee to sign Nottingham Forrest right back Matty Cash.