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Gabriel Paulista will have a medical in London today ahead of a £13.4million move to Arsenal.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger revealed last night after the club’s 3-2 FA Cup win at Brighton that a deal was close and barring any last minute hitches, the 24-year-old’s transfer could be confirmed later today.
The Villarreal defender will be cleared to play once receiving a work permit but despite Paulista not meeting the criteria of playing 75 per cent of his country’s international matches over the last two years - he has never been capped by Brazil and does not have an EU passport - Arsenal are confident of success on appeal.
The appeal process is merely a subjective argument that Paulista is a player of “the highest calibre” and will improve the quality of the League, something Arsenal successfully argued previously with Ryo Miyaichi and Eduardo da Silva.
Arsenal striker Joel Campbell is expected to move to Villarreal on loan as part of the agreement.
