Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes was willing to do anything in order to secure three points at Leicester on Saturday afternoon – even if it meant clashing with two team-mates.
The Brazilian defender was rock solid as the Gunners earned a 1-0 victory at the King Power Stadium through Martinelli ‘s second-half goal.
Gabriel helped Arsenal limit Leicester to a mere 0.2 expected goals in a good defensive display, but he also had to battle with his own team-mates as they held on to top spot in the Premier League.
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While Oleksandr Zinchenko was handed the captain’s armband by Mikel Arteta to mark the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of his homeland, Ukraine, Gabriel showed great leadership.
The 25-year-old, who’s enjoying his third campaign at Arsenal and signed a long-term contract extension in October, made sure to keep the experienced Jorginho in check when he made a mistake during Saturday’s hard-fought win.
As the Italian midfielder attempted and failed to pass the ball back with his shoulder, Gabriel unleashed a tirade by yelling at him to use his chest.
And It was a wake-up call for Jorginho, who was playing his third consecutive 90 minutes after signing in January.
Gabriel wasn’t done ensuring that his side were doing everything they can to become champions when the final whistle went as he was involved in a heated exchanged with William Saliba which turned physical.
It was reported by the Athletic that as Arsenal stars walked off the pitch after the game, Saliba shoved Gabriel away at the end of a stern discussion.
However, It’s unclear what was said between the two players but Arteta only had praise for both of them after the match.
“I think defensively we were incredible because restricting Leicester to one shot on target in the whole game at home is a difficult thing to do,” the Arsenal boss said after his side’s second away win on the bounce. “The players did really well.”
Arteta added: “It’s really important obviously, it creates more belief, more belief in the players, more belief around our club, and externally, I had full faith the players could do it, it was coming back to some basics and some details that can get games away from us, we made it much more than what we got.
“In the last two games, especially today, we’ve done those things much better. Set plays, sloppy goals, and individual errors, it’s part of football sometimes you are going to concede in games but the fact we are not conceding and giving chances away is really important if you want to be constantly winning matches.”
