Gabriel reignites Haaland rivalry by celebrating in his face as fans say ‘this is exactly what the Premier League needs’
GABRIEL MAGALHAES reignited his feud with Erling Haaland after celebrating in his rival’s face.
There is no love lost between the Arsenal defender and Manchester City striker given previous run-ins.
And Sunday afternoon’s clash at the Emirates showed the flames of rivalry were still burning brightly after the Gunners took an early lead.
Martin Odegaard tapped home from a Kai Havertz square pass after Manuel Akanji gave the ball away inside three minutes.
As the home side ran up the pitch to celebrate with the goalscorer, Gabriel took the chance to rub it in Haaland‘s face.
The Brazilian was seen shouting in the face of the 24-year-old as he ran past.
Fans were loving the needle shown by the 27-year-old.
Reacting on social media, one fan said: “Gabriel is so petty. He went to celebrate in Haaland’s front.”
A second said: “Hahaha Gabriel to Haaland. What amazing rivalry.”
A third said: “Gabriel had every right to do that to Haaland.”
Another said: “This is exactly what the Premier League needs.”
A fifth added: “Bro Gabriel’s reaction on Haaland is everything.”
In the reverse fixture at the Etihad earlier this season, Arsenal were left distraught after conceding late on following a desperate defence with ten players for more than an hour.
During the celebrations, Haaland threw the ball at the back of Gabriel’s head while running out of the goal.
Haaland also caused an emotive reaction after the game, which ended 2-2, as he told Gunners boss Mikel Arteta to “stay humble”.
Following the incident, Haaland insisted he had no regrets, saying he did it in the “heat of the moment”.
Responding to the ball throwing at the time, Gabriel said: “I don’t even remember this.
“It’s normal, they were happy after scoring in the last minute. They were playing at home, so their duty was to win the match, but our team did really well to resist.
“It’s a battle, a war, so it’s normal to have provocative acts in football, it’s part of the game. Now this is over and we are waiting for them at our ground.”
Indeed, the proof is there that Gabriel was waiting for the chance to exact his revenge today.
TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: STAY UP TO DATE WITH ALL THE LATEST MOVES FROM THE JANUARY WINDOW