Declan Rice and Gabriel Magalhaes engaged in a heated dispute during Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to Fulham today.
The Gunners swiftly countered their 2-0 defeat to West Ham at the Emirates, taking an early 1-0 lead with Bukayo Saka.
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However, Raul Jimenez equalized before Bobby Decordova-Reid capitalized on Arsenal’s defensive blunders, putting Marco Silva’s team in the lead.
In the second half, Arsenal appeared disorganized, and Gabriel was observed shouting at Rice during a particular sequence.
At 1-1, Gabriel gestured “one” to Rice while shouting, prompting a heated exchange where Rice expressed his viewpoint with animated arm gestures.
Shortly after the disagreement, Decordova-Reid scored for Fulham from a corner, with the ball rebounding off both Rice and Takehiro Tomiyasu before reaching the goalscorer.
Despite showcasing dominance for significant stretches this season following his £105 million transfer from West Ham in the summer, Rice encountered a setback.
He conceded a penalty in the 2-0 defeat against his former side on Thursday and faced challenges against Joao Palhinha at Craven Cottage.
Arsenal’s loss to Fulham marked their fourth defeat in the Premier League this term, culminating the year in fourth place, just one point ahead of rivals Spurs, who secured a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth.
They are tied on points with Manchester City, who have a pending match against Brentford.
Consequently, Liverpool is set to conclude 2023 at the top, and a victory over Newcastle on New Year’s Day could extend their lead to five points.
