Club hopes to seal initial £6m deal for Villarreal centre-backBrazilian might not qualify to obtain visaArsenal would need to prove ‘exceptional talent’ on appeal

Arsenal intend to push on with their pursuit of the Villarreal centre-half Gabriel Paulista and are confident they would be able to secure a work permit for the Brazilian despite the player not appearing to meet any of the criteria to qualify for international clearance.

Talks are continuing with the Spanish club over the fee required to prise away the 24-year-old, whose eagerness to swap El Madrigal for the Emirates Stadium has effectively forced Villarreal to consider offers lower than the £16m release clause in his contract. Arsenal hope to strike an agreement for an initial £6m with add-ons that could take the fee beyond £10m.

Securing the work permit will arguably prove more onerous. The player has not represented Brazil at any level and regulations for players without an EU passport state they qualify only if they represent an international team ranked within Fifa’s top 70 and have played 75% of that side’s matches in the previous two years. There is scope for the rules to be relaxed – an appeals process is run by the Football Association on behalf of the Home Office – though Arsenal would have to prove that Gabriel, who does not enjoy dual citizenship, is an “exceptional talent” who would benefit the game in this country.

There is confidence within the club’s hierarchy that the panel could be persuaded of the player’s pedigree despite the fact that, ideally, they would be paying only an initial £6m for his services. Arsenal are anxious to avoid repeating the scenario which saw them forced to loan Joel Campbell, of Costa Rica, and Mexico’s Carlos Vela to clubs in Europe before securing the green light to bring the players to the Premier League.

Arsène Wenger does have potential alternatives should the FA block the move, with Espanyol’s Mexico international Héctor Moreno, who has 57 caps and has just taken on Mino Raiola as his agent, or Winston Reid of West Ham United likely candidates. The latter is out of contract in the summer but would cost in excess of £7m.

The need for defensive cover has been accelerated by the loss of Mathieu Debuchy for three months with a shoulder injury and Laurent Koscielny’s achilles complaint.

Arsenal are reluctant to sanction Campbell’s departure this month having loaned Yaya Sanogo to Crystal Palace and Lukas Podolski to Internazionale.