Valencia defender Gabriel Paulista believes he wasn’t given the minutes on the pitch he deserved at Arsenal.
The Brazilian was sold back to Spain for £10m in August and speaking in an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca, the 26 year old said it wasn’t just him who couldn’t understand why manager Arsene Wenger wasn’t picking him more regularly to play:
“At Arsenal [I] deserved more. They did not give me the minutes I earned, nor did my colleagues understand why they sent me to the bench. I talked to my family and decided to leave.”
The Brazilian has linked up with his former Villarreal manager Marcelino at Valencia. The centre back revealed last week that Arsene Wenger initially turned down Valencia’s approaches for him, but after having a heart to heart with the Frenchman, it was agreed that the player would be allowed to leave.
Gabriel made the move to the Emirates in the 2015 January transfer window, but despite making 64 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions during his two and a half years at the club, he never established himself as a first team regular.
