Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes was this week filmed taking part in a confrontation at a six-a-side match, though the injured defender wasn’t playing.
In a five-second video shared by Thomas Godfrey of The S*n on Friday night, Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes can be seen remonstrating with someone, shouting in Portuguese and waving his hand.
According to the report, the moment was captured on camera during a six-a-side match on Tuesday, though Gabriel wasn’t playing in the friendly fixture.
The Arsenal player had reportedly been invited to attend the kickabout in Peckham, organised by fans of Brazilian side Botafogo. But the match ended early after a “horror tackle”, prompting the confrontation in the video.
Onlookers in attendance said the interaction was never physical, it was just an argument in the heat of the moment. It’s unclear whether Gabriel knew the victim of the bad challenge.
Everything calmed down afterwards, though the match was apparently called off.
Whether Gabriel knew the player on the end of the challenge or not, it’s nice of him to step in and set the offender straight. No one wants to see a player seriously injured, particularly in a friendly match.
The article also mentions Gabriel running “at full speed” across the pitch to join the confrontation, which would be encouraging if true. The centre-back is currently out injured, so it would be a boost to see him fit enough to be running about again.
But these stories (and this particular publication) tend to sensationalise the details, and there’s no footage included of Gabriel running. The expectation remains that he’ll be back playing around the start of January.