Arsenal Transfer News: Gabriel Paulista Will Solidify Gunners' Top-4 Place

Despite Arsenal's loss to Southampton in the Premier League in recent weeks, the Gunners' form is moving in the right direction.

Arsene Wenger's team have four wins from their last five games and are up to third place in the Premier League form guide.

But there is a strong consensus of opinion that the Emirates club need to strengthen their defence before the end of the January transfer window, with Villarreal's Gabriel Paulista high on Wenger's shopping list.

Anthony Hay of the Mail Online reports the Gunners are close to capturing the £15 million defensive talent, with the player being dropped by his club for their La Liga match on Saturday.

Hay says Paulista "has moved a step closer to leaving the Spanish outfit," leaving Wenger in the clear to bring the Brazilian to London.

And the manager confirmed Arsenal are in talks with Villarreal for the defender, speaking positively about the potential transfer, per Hay: "The talks are progressing quite well with Villarreal for Paulista. We are talking at the moment and slowly progressing. We are ready to pay the price for a good player. We want the player and if he needs a work permit we will defend it now."

Hay says the player could struggle to obtain a work permit as he is not a full international, but Arsenal are willing to trigger his buy-out clause if necessary.

Paulista has been a target for Manchester United, as reported by James Dickenson of the Express, but it seems the player will now join Arsenal despite Louis van Gaal's attempt to "hijack" the deal.

The 24-year-old has featured heavily for his club this term, playing 1607 minutes in La Liga and starting 18 matches, per WhoScored.

He is an intelligent operator at the back and has the type of awareness that Wenger's team would absolutely benefit from.

Alberto Saiz/Associated Press

Football writer Phil West recently reviewed Paulista for his blog and sees the defender as a potentially shrewd buy by the Gunners:

"

He seems more of a stealthy Koscielny-like buy as opposed to a bring-all-the-trumpets Marcus Rojo signing.

...

Reportedly very talented, and could be a sneaky good buy—except that if there really is a €20 million release clause, that's an indication that Villarreal is already aware of the value they have. "

Tom Dulat/Getty Images

Paulista is the kind of player Wenger will warm to, and the French coach will not have to alter his philosophy to accommodate the defender.

He would add the necessary competition to the Arsenal defence which has been missing for some time and could end up being one of the stellar buys of the January transfer window.

Statistically speaking, Wenger's defence have done well in the last few seasons, but they have suffered against the bigger teams—ignoring the recent win at Manchester City—and have failed to show strength when needed.

The Gunners have always had a weak equilibrium as Wenger concentrates on his sumptuous midfield and scoring goals.

But if the manager completes the deal for Paulista, it could be the single element which keeps Arsenal in the Champions League for next season.

Petros Karadjias/Associated Press

Manchester United and Liverpool will compete with Arsenal for third and fourth place, but neither of the north-west giants have looked convincing this season.

Paulista would help Arsenal shut the barn door and stop the horse from bolting out of the stable, while the likes of Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil return, giving Wenger the firepower he needs to climb the table.

Of course, Arsenal fans still harbour ambitions to win the championship title, but this is not going to happen this season.

The issue now is to not fall out of Europe's biggest club competition, and Wenger is correct in addressing his defence at this specific point in time.

Paulista is not the missing piece of the Arsenal jigsaw in terms of winning trophies, but he is the perfect player to keep the Gunners' head above water.

He will grow during his time at the Emirates and will surely find his way into the Brazil national side in the next 12 months.