Gabriel causes outrage in Arsenal v PSV: ‘Cannot ever warm to that’
Arsenal centre-back Gabriel left Tim Sherwood fuming after one incident during his side’s Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven.
Mikel Arteta‘s side went into that clash in the Emirates on Wednesday night (12 March) already well in control of the tie.
The first leg saw Arsenal batter PSV 7-1 in the Netherlands, meaning they were already as good as through to the quarter finals.
Ultimately the second leg proved to be a much tighter encounter on the pitch, albeit with little jeopardy for the Gunners given the result of the previous week’s match.
As a result a 2-2 draw was enough for Arsenal to cruise into the quarter finals of the competition, where they are set to face Real Madrid.
Tim Sherwood unimpressed by Gabriel tackle celebration
With 40 minutes on the clock, Arteta’s side had been leading the game 2-1, with Oleksandr Zinchenko having opened the scoring before Ivan Perisic equalised.
Raheem Sterling had then set up Declan Rice to put Arsenal back in front, before Gabriel produced an excellent piece of work to keep his side in front.
After Couhaib Driouech had got the better of Ben White on the flanks, the PSV attacker looked set to get a shot away in a one on one situation with David Raya.
Before he could do so though, Gabriel appeared with an incredible sliding challenge out of nowhere to charge down that effort before it could trouble the Arsenal goalkeeper.
| Gabriel vs PSV | Total (as per SofaScore) |
| Tackles | 1 |
| Clearances | 3 |
| Shots Blocked | 2 |
| Interceptions | 0 |
| Successful Passes | 65/68 |
That then prompted emphatic celebrations from the centre-back, which did not go down well with Sherwood.
Commenting on the incident on Sky Sports Soccer Special, the former Tottenham midfielder said (12 March, 8:42pm): “It was a great block from Gabriel, it was Driouech again down the left-hand side he gets in.
“And Gabriel just comes on the cover, he comes from nowhere, Driouech is about 12 yards out and he comes in.
“And then the celebration comes from Gabriel, I cannot ever warm to that, centre-halves celebrating when they make a tackle, not having it at all.”
Arsenal should enjoy moments such as this
Football Insider Verdict
While Sherwood may not like it, you can’t blame Gabriel for his reaction after producing such an excellent intervention.
From the position he was in, Driouech looked a good bet to score if it was not for the intervention of the Arsenal centre-back.
So given this contribution was effectively as important as a goal at the other end of the pitch, he is surely entitled to celebrate.
With defenders not getting to enjoy goals as much as attackers do, many will feel they have a right to saviour their own vital interventions as Gabriel did here.
Even though the tie was done, Arsenal will still have wanted to go through with a decent performance to maintain momentum, and moments such as this that make that happen ought to be recognised.