Gabriel Magalhaes has signed a new, long-term contract with Arsenal.
It is understood the central defender finalised terms on Friday, following a meeting between manager Mikel Arteta and his representatives.
Arsenal hope it will be the first of a flurry of contract extensions involving key players, with the club working to tie down Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli, too.
Magalhaes has started every Premier League game this season, forming a promising partnership with Saliba.
Only Newcastle have conceded fewer league goals than Arsenal (10), who sit four points clear atop the table.
The Brazilian, 24, joined from Lille for £27million back in 2020. His previous deal ran until the summer of 2025 but Arteta has now secured his long-term future.
Gabriel has made 83 appearances for Arsenal and on Friday Arteta praised the defender.
'A winning team needs to have a spine of the team that is tremendously consistent and play at a really high level, keep clean sheets and we are doing that a lot,' he said, ahead of Sunday's trip to Southampton.
'When we look at a central defender we look at partnerships. I think Gabby has made William a better player and I think Willy helps Gabby to be the same – there is a strong chemistry there, you can sense it and the way they communicate with each other and play for each other, it is really positive and what you want.'
Gabriel has been guilty of a couple of mistakes this season and Arteta conceded: 'If you look at some of the goals we have conceded there have been some individual errors in some of them but they have been shared.
'We have to accept that when you have young players in those positions, this is going to happen and that is the bill.'
Arsenal:
Since joining from Lille in September 2020, Gabi has become a vital part of our first team, making 81 appearances in all competitions.
The 24-year-old defender continues to grow in stature with impressive performances and is also a big goalscoring threat. He netted on his debut in September 2020, and scored five times in the Premier League last season.
A Brazil youth international, Gabi was called up to the senior squad for the first time in November 2021 and was an unused substitute during the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Gabi began his career with Avai in Santa Catarina in Brazil, before moving to France with Lille as a teenager in January 2017. He then had loan spells with Troyes in Ligue 1 and Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia – who won the domestic double while Gabriel was with them in 2017/18 – before making his debut for Lille in February 2019.
Technical Director Edu said: “It’s great that we’ve agreed a new deal with Gabi. At 24, he’s still a young player and is part of our future. His performances since he joined us in 2020 have been very strong and his positive impact to our results have been clear for everyone to see.
"He has grown so much on and off the pitch, with both his contribution and communication on and off the pitch. We all look forward to see Gabi continue to grow as an important part of our club.”
Mikel Arteta added: “Gabi has shown huge qualities since he joined us. He is a young player with a great work ethic and his consistent strong performances have been hugely important to us over the past two seasons.
"Working with Gabi every day is a pleasure, he has formed strong relationships with everyone at the club and we’re so pleased that he has committed to us on a long-term contract."
Everyone at the club would like to congratulate Gabi on his new contract and look forward to his continued contribution.