Gabriel and his fiancé, Gabrielle Figueiredo, are awaiting the arrival of their daughter and it is thought she could be born in the next week.
As a result, Gabriel has been given permission by Brazil to stay in England and not join up with the national team for their World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia.
The 24-year-old spoke with Brazil’s team coordinator, Juninho Paulista, before making the decision and the pair agreed the defender should stay at home for the birth of his first child. Atletico Madrid defender Felipe has been called up by Brazil manager Tite instead.
Gabriel’s Arsenal team-mate, Gabriel Martinelli, has travelled to Brazil after recovering from the illness that kept him out of last Saturday’s win over Aston Villa.
Brazil began training yesterday with a small session but Martinelli and Chelsea defender Thiago Silva did not take part.
They will rejoin the group this week and Martinelli is hoping to make his debut for Brazil after being rewarded with his first call-up to the senior side.
The 20-year-old has been in fine form for Arsenal recently and has become a regular under Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal will hope that defender Takehiro Tomiyasu can get back to full fitness during the international break.
The right-back has been struggling with a calf issue and has not played for the Gunners since January.
After holding talks with Japan, it was agreed Tomiyasu should stay with Arsenal during the current international break.
He will use the time to work with Arsenal’s medical staff to get fully fit for when the Premier League returns next month.
