Arsenal have had a €15m (£13m) bid rejected by Benfica for Gabriel Appelt Pires, according to reports in the Portuguese media.

The 26-year-old is a holding midfielder by trade and it is likely that technical director Edu was the architect behind the offer due to his knowledge of Brazilian players.

Considering Gabriel’s position on the pitch, it looks as though Arsenal’s recruitment team are casting their net far and wide for cheaper alternatives to Thomas Partey. Atletico Madrid are sticking to their €50m (£45m) valuation of the player and the Gunners would need to sell in order to match the asking price.

With that being the case, the London club have been linked with a whole host of other midfielders in recent weeks, including the likes of Porto’s Danilo Pereira and Roma’s Amadou Diawara.

This is the first time that Benfica Gabriel’s name has been mentioned, though, and it will be interesting to see whether Arsenal return with another offer for the Brazilian.