Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães appeared to send a subtle message to Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyökeres after scoring a powerful header just before halftime in the Champions League clash. ...CONTINUE READING>>>
Adding Arsenal’s third goal of the half, Gabriel celebrated by mimicking Gyökeres’ signature hand gesture but with a twist. While Gyökeres typically places his hands over the lower half of his face, Gabriel raised them over his eyes in a playful nod.
Sporting’s on-fire goal machine has made the celebration his own over the past year as he continues to make a case for being the hottest property No.9 on the market. Unlike Gabriel, who put his hands very much over the top of his face and covering his eyes, Gyokeres tends to do it over the bottom half and mouth area.
For Arsenal, Gabriel’s goal marked the end of a brilliant half. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz had already put Mikel Arteta’s side into a commanding position early on.
Sporting, now without head coach Ruben Amorim after he left to join Manchester United, were unable to deal with the speed and play of Arsenal, who cut through at will in an utterly dominant opening 45 minutes in Lisbon. That was summed up by Gabriel’s run to the far post to head in for 3-0.
Gyokeres, who much of the pre-match focus had been on due to his remarkable start to the season, was left as a peripheral figure. He already has 16 league goals in Portugal this season from just 11 games and is demonstrating why some of Europe’s top teams are after him heading into 2025.
Gabriel himself has an impressive three goals for Arsenal after scoring here. He has become a powerhouse from set-pieces, threatening regularly on the end of Declan Rice’s crosses. He was unable to stop Goncalo Inacio from getting an early goal back for Sporting via a corner of their in the second half as they got off to a rapid start in a bid to turn things around.
