November 27th 2024.
During Arsenal's impressive 5-1 win against Sporting CP in the Champions League, Gabriel Magalhaes caused quite a stir with his celebration after scoring the third goal. The Brazilian defender chose to mimic Viktor Gyokeres' signature celebration, which didn't sit well with former Arsenal player Freddie Ljungberg.
Ljungberg, who was in charge of Arsenal before Mikel Arteta's arrival, branded Gabriel's actions as "disrespectful". He believed that the defender's decision to copy Gyokeres' celebration was unnecessary and showed a lack of sportsmanship. Ljungberg's fellow pundit and former Sweden head coach, Lars Lagerback, also weighed in on the matter, acknowledging the potential irony behind Gabriel's gesture but still finding it a bit rude.
However, Gyokeres himself didn't seem to mind Gabriel's celebration, stating that he was flattered that the defender liked his celebration enough to copy it. He even joked that Gabriel could continue to use it if he couldn't come up with his own celebration.
In the game itself, Arsenal dominated Sporting CP with a three-goal lead by halftime, thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, and Gabriel Magalhaes. Sporting managed to pull one back in the second half, but Arsenal's dominance couldn't be stopped as they went on to score two more goals through Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard.
Gyokeres, who has been linked with top English clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal, had a difficult evening as Gabriel and William Saliba kept him at bay. The Swedish striker was unable to make much of an impact against the strong Arsenal defense.
After the game, Gyokeres admitted that it was a tough day for Sporting and they were not able to play their best football. He also praised Gabriel and Saliba for their solid defensive performance, which kept him from being a significant threat on the field.
In the end, while there may be differing opinions on Gabriel's celebration, one thing is for sure - it has certainly sparked some interesting discussions and added some spice to the game. As for Gyokeres, he remains unbothered and focused on improving his performance for future matches.
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