Raphinha next? Ranking the 15 Brazilians to play for Arsenal

Arsenal are going through a Brazilian revolution, with a number of players from the country signed by Brazilian technical director Edu Gaspar.

According to Goal Brazil, Leeds United talisman Raphinha could be the next to arrive at the Emirates, with Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus set to follow.

That’s following the capture of highly-rated wonderkid Marquinhos, who has already been snapped up by Mikel Arteta’s Gunners.

However, the new contingent would be joining a group with a mixed record. Arsenal and Brazil’s current teams are a far cry from their sides who dominated the early 2000s, and some of the Brazilians to join the Gunners didn’t exactly bring a Ronaldo or Ronaldinho level of skill or flair.

Sixteen Brazilians have signed for Arsenal in the Premier League era, and here’s how we ranked the Gunners’ Samba ballers, from club legends to expensive disasters. We’ve left out new recruit Marquinhos for now.

Propping up this list is a man who never actually played a game for Arsenal, but look, he was on the books, so he counts, alright?

Botelho signed for Arsenal as a 17-year-old from Brazilian club Figueirense in 2007 but was immediately loaned out to Spanish club Salamanca as he didn’t have a work permit to play in England. Upon returning to the club at the end of the season, he was loaned out again. And again, and again and again. Finally, in 2012, the club gave up on the dream of getting him a work permit and allowed him to leave for good.

Since then, he has spent his career back in his home country bouncing between clubs and divisions, but hey, look on the bright side; Botelho can confidently say he never had a bad game for Arsenal.

Coming in at number 14 is a man who also never played a competitive game for