Former German international voices his frustration with Gabriel Magalhães’ conduct during Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Atlético Madrid
Matthias Sammer has criticised Gabriel‘s behaviour during the Champions League semi-final second leg that Arsenal went on to win 1-0 against Atlético Madrid, suggesting the Brazilian’s penchant for gamesmanship tainted an otherwise positive performance.
The German legend was left unimpressed by the defender’s attempts to influence referee Daniel Siebert through theatrical falls.
While Gabriel was undoubtedly the anchor of a resolute Arsenal backline that kept a clean sheet against Diego Simeone’s side, his tendency to exaggerate contact drew a sharp rebuke from the former Ballon d’Or winner.
“Gabriel should give his jersey to the referee today because there was a situation on the sideline where there was barely any contact, and he threw himself to the ground,” Sammer said during his analysis for Amazon Prime.
Despite the harsh critique, he was balanced enough to acknowledge the technical level of the 28-year-old Brazilian, even if his antics proved distracting.
“Gabriel played a very good game,” he added. “As a football fan, he also got on my nerves a bit.”
Giuliano Simeone’s complaints
The friction between high level defending and gamesmanship was the primary theme of the evening. Gabriel, a key fixture in the Gunners’ lineup since his 2020 move from Lille, has developed a reputation for theatrical falls to win fouls for his side, and they were on full display on Tuesday.
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Gabriel starred in two highly debatable moments on the night that ran a high risk of being called as penalties.
First, when Giuliano Simeone latched onto a through ball and looked destined to beat David Raya, the Brazilian centre-back pulled back the Argentine as he was bearing down on goal, similar to the red card shown to Pau Cubarsi of Barcelona in the quarter final first leg on the same player.
And then, as Marc Pubill challenged for the ball inside the Arsenal box, Gabriel fell to the ground in what is now a signature move for the Brazilian, before Riccardo Calafiori felled Antoine Griezmann. The German referee opted to give a foul on Gabriel, turning down Atlético’s loud calls for a spot-kick.
The nature of that specific physical encounter left the Atlético camp feeling aggrieved and calling for technology to intervene.
“He went down too easily,” Sammer complained.
This sentiment was echoed by the players on the receiving end of Gabriel’s physical style. Giuliano Simeone, reflecting on the crucial moment where he was denied a goal, felt that the contact from the defender was enough to warrant a foul, expressing disappointment that the officiating team opted not to review the footage.
“It all happened so fast,” Simeone explained after the final whistle. “What I felt was that when I shot, he threw me off balance and I couldn’t shoot properly. That’s what I felt. The referee didn’t even go to the VAR for some plays like that one, just like on a play involving Antoine [Griezmann], and it didn’t go our way.”
