A key player in Arsenal’s 2026 Premier League triumph, which ended a 22-year wait for the title, Gabriel Magalhães saw his efforts rewarded with his first-ever nomination for the Ballon d’Or.

The 2025–26 season was, without doubt, the best of his career. As well as the numerous clean sheets the centre-back helped Arsenal achieve across 51 matches, the Brazilian also scored four goals and provided five assists.

This took his total to 25 direct goal contributions in the Premier League – the highest tally ever recorded by an Arsenal centre-back. Gabriel surpassed Laurent Koscielny’s previous record of 22.

But despite all this contribution in attack, it is in defence that Gabriel really stands out. Strong, reliable and difficult to get past, he has become a veritable wall in Arsenal’s defence.

It is no coincidence that the team finished the season with the best defence in both the Champions League, conceding just seven goals, and the Premier League, conceding 27.

Champions League teams with the fewest goals conceded, 2025–26:

  1. Arsenal – 7

  2. Inter Milan - 12

  3. Liverpool – 13

  4. Athletic Bilbao / Manchester City / Olympique Marseille / Tottenham Hotspur - 14

  5. Benfica / Napoli - 15

Premier League teams with the fewest goals conceded, 2025–26:

  1. Arsenal – 27

  2. Manchester City – 35

  3. Brighton & Hove Albion – 46

  4. Sunderland – 48

  5. Aston Villa – 49

Last Premier League season, Gabriel also ranked in the top five for two key defensive statistics.

Firstly, he was among the top five players in the league for blocks that season.

Players with the most blocks in the Premier League, 2025–26:

  1. James Tarkowski (Everton) – 52

  2. Marcos Senesi (Bournemouth) – 47

  3. Nathan Collins (Brentford) – 41

  4. Nikola Milenković (Nottingham Forest) – 36

  5. Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal) – 34

  6. Malick Thiaw (Newcastle United) / Maxime Estève (Burnley) – 33

Gabriel also featured amongst the top five players with the highest percentage of successful challenges in the competition. And his figure is even more striking when you consider the volume of challenges: with 69.9 per cent, he was the only player in the top five to exceed the 100-challenge mark for the season.

Players with the highest percentage of successful duels in the Premier League, 2025–26:

  1. Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa) – 73.1 per cent (out of 93)

  2. Ayden Heaven (Manchester United) – 71.2 per cent (out of 52)

  3. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) – 70.0 per cent (out of 60)

  4. Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal) – 69.9 per cent (out of 103)

  5. Axel Disasi (West Ham United) – 69.0 per cent (out of 29)

All these figures reinforce something that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore: Gabriel Magalhães is one of the best centre-backs in the world.

The 28-year-old, who is also a first-team regular for the Brazilian national side, seems to be well on his way to carving out a place for himself alongside other great defensive legends in Arsenal’s history.