Arteta salutes Giroud as Gabriel prepares for Lille reunion

Arsenal’s first competitive meeting with Lille tomorrow night will bring a couple of reunions, with Gabriel Magalhaes and Olivier Giroud facing their former clubs at the Emirates.

Familiar faces may be in short supply, but both men have good reason to look forward to the occasion. Gabriel left Brazil for Lille in 2017, taking the first step in a European career that brought him to Arsenal three years later.

Loan spells at Troyes and Dinamo Zagreb preceded his breakthrough in northern France, where he made 52 appearances and gained Champions League experience. He learned French along the way and still uses it to communicate with William Saliba.