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LONDON — Arsenal have made a formal three-year contract offer to Willian, edging them to the front of the race to sign the Brazilian forward.

Joining Mikel Arteta’s rejuvenated side and the chance to work with fellow Brazilian Edu are the reasons Arsenal are favourites to secure Willian’s signature. The Gunners have made a formal three-year contract offer to Willian, still some way short of the terms offered by Barcelona and Inter Miami.

Despite wanting the 31-year-old to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have refused to offer more than a further two years – and the chances of him being a Chelsea player when the new season begins in five weeks now look remote.

Gabriel Magalhaes has also emerged as a serious target for Arsenal, while the Gunners are hopeful of finalising a deal to sign Chelsea winger Willian.

Lille centre-back Gabriel is a wanted man this summer, with clubs from across Europe in discussions with the Ligue 1 side about a possible deal.

Goal can confirm that Arsenal are one of the clubs in the running for the Brazil Under-20s international, but a firm offer has yet to be made for a player also being eyed by Manchester United.

There have been reports in France that Gabriel has set his sights on signing for Mikel Arteta’s side after talks this week, but sources close to the discussions insist that is not the case and that nothing has been decided.

Lille have yet to make any definitive decision on the defender’s future amid such intense interest, with the Ligue 1 outfit believed to be holding out for a fee in the region of £25 million ($28m).

Arsenal do have good contacts with Lille following last summer’s deal which saw Nicolas Pepe make the move from the Stade Pierre Mauroy to the Emirates Stadium for a club-record £72m ($95m).

Head of football at the Emirates, Raul Sanllehi, and Lille chief executive Marc Ingla worked together while at Barcelona and Sanllehi is believed to have used that relationship to his advantage during the negotiations for Pepe, which saw the deal structured very favourably for Arsenal.

Arteta wants to sign another centre-back this summer to add to the arrival of William Saliba, who has already started pre-season training having completed his season-long loan with Saint-Etienne. — Goal.com.