Gabriel: Arsenal's UFC wannabe ready for Haaland scrap

As a baseball-bat wielding robber found out five years ago, Gabriel Magalhaes does not mess around. A vital piece of Mikel Arteta’s jigsaw, the Brazilian has risen to become one of the Premier League’s most-feared defenders in an incombustible pairing with Arsenal team-mate William Saliba. A threat on set-pieces — he has three goals and four assists in the league this season — and a phenom in the backline, Gabriel is an imposing figure up close. Sat down in the sun outside at Arsenal’s London Colney training base ahead of their Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, he’s in a reflective mood. As seen across this campaign, Gabriel willingly puts his body on the line. Gladly, so. Whether it be his face, chest or even his neck — reflected in one block against Bayer Leverkusen recently — he will defend his ‘house’ by any means necessary. ‘I cannot breathe after this (block vs Leverkusen)!’ he exclaims. ‘Like I said, I tried to do my best and I gave everything for this badge. So my team-mates can see as well. If you see the block of (Riccardo) Calafiori against Everton, it was unbelievable. We try to do our best every time.’ His trademark penchant for duels and aggression are a marker of the player he is. Unrelenting and at the fore, it typifies the 28-year-old’s game. Those tendencies have always been there. ‘When I was younger, I was very aggressive,’ he says. ‘When I played with my friends, they would say, “Hey, calm down, you're a professional”.’ ‘But it's just like I do every day. We play football, I go to you, it's just in my mind. I try to defend my house. ‘I've watched a lot of defenders before. I think beautiful football is not only a beautiful pass, but also when you defend, the way you defend. Like I said, I try to bring energy to everyone and help my team-mates.’ Those who have inspired him share such an approach. ‘(Paolo) Maldini, (Fabio) Cannavaro, Lucio and, of course, you have Thiago Silva and Marquinhos,’ he says. ‘I think I learn a lot when I watch players like that.’ One tantalising match-up on Sunday is with Erling Haaland — a collision between the game’s most ruthless finisher and one of the league’s most uncompromising defenders. Their battle could decide not just the match, but the first major trophy of the season which Arsenal so desperately crave after a six-year wait for silverware; their last scalp dates back to the 2020 FA Cup triumph over Chelsea. ‘To be honest, I enjoy every game, every striker,’ he says. ‘It is my job, so I like to battle. But he (Haaland) is a top player and, of course, I think he likes to play against me as well. ‘I think it is fun. We enjoy it.’ Is he the toughest striker in the Premier League to play against? There were lighter moments, too. When told that team-mates had joked he might have been a UFC fighter, or perhaps a security guard, he smiled. ‘They know me,’ he says. ‘We train every day together.’ ‘I think it’s good to know. Maybe after football I can be a security guard!’ It is easy to frame players like Gabriel purely through the lens of aggression. But here was the counterbalance of self-awareness and humour. Yet beneath the humour sits something more deeper. This is a player who remembers. His social media posts of copying Amadou Onana’s three points in the pocket celebration, or mocking his Brazilian compatriot Richarlison by tagging him into a post holding a four of hearts card — referencing Arsenal’s 4-1 thrashing of Tottenham in February — were deliberate. 'Yeah, I remember, that's why,’ he says. ‘No, I don't write (them down), but that's why the football is beautiful. Because they can do what we can do as well. 'Like Richarlison, he's my friend. When we lost against them in pre-season, they posted a picture. And now we see it in the Premier League. 'So it's in my mind, I don't forget. But it's nothing personal. ‘Against Spurs, it has to be quickly!' Whether he has a social media post ready for Sunday remains to be seen. Yet, when Haaland comes calling at Wembley, Gabriel will be ready to defend his house once more — whatever it takes.