“Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I don’t think it’s necessary” - Freddie Ljungberg calls Arsenal star ‘disrespectful’ after win over Sporting
Former Arsenal forward Freddie Ljungberg has criticised Gabriel Magalhaes after his celebration in their win over Sporting CP. The Gunners hammered the Portuguese side 5-1 at Estadio Jose Alvalade in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, November 26.
Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring for the visitors in the seventh minute before Kai Havertz added another in the 22nd minute. Gabriel Magalhaes then scored made it 3-0 in the first minute of first-half stoppage time. During his goal celebration, he appeared to mock Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres.
The Swedish striker generally puts both his hands on his mouth to celebrate a goal. Gabriel, however, put both his hands in a similar fashion on his eyes instead. After the game, Freddie Ljungberg said about the Arsenal star's celebration (via Metro):
"I’m not a fan of it. Of course, he must have had a lot of talk about playing against Gyokeres and whether he would be able to do it. Then his point in showing that he can handle it is quite simple.
"But I think it’s a bit disrespectful. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I don’t think it’s necessary. I think someone else has that target gesture, leave it alone. I don’t like to see it."
In the game, Goncalo Inacio pulled one back for Sporting just two minutes after the break. However, Bukayo Saka (65' p) and Leandro Trossard (82') completed the rout for Arsenal as they moved into seventh place in the table.
Viktor Gyokeres shares his thoughts on Arsenal star Gabriel's celebration
After the game, Viktor Gyokeres also took a dig at Gabriel for trying to mock his celebration. He said (via Metro):
"I didn’t know he did that, but it’s fun he likes my celebration. He’s welcome to steal it if he can’t create his own celebration."
Arsenal forward Kai Havertz, meanwhile, credited Gabriel and his centre-back partner William Saliba for keeping Gyokeres quiet during the game. He said:
"He is a big threat and plays well for Sporting but credit to our defence that handled him well today. Today he wasn’t that dangerous, but that’s because we defended very well."
Gyokeres has been exceptional for Sporting this season, scoring 24 goals and providing four assists in 20 games across competitions. Incidentally, his performances have seen him getting linked with a potential move to numerous clubs across Europe, including Arsenal.
