Neville, while acknowledging Gabriel’s competitive qualities, questioned his tendency to blow things out of proportion.
By Kehinde Okeowo
English pundit and former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has berated Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhães for seemingly trying to con the referee during the Gunners’ narrow 1-0 Premier League victory against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday night.
He slammed the Brazilian defender over his reaction to a challenge while providing commentary for Sky Sports during the match.
Arsenal secured all three points through Kai Havertz, who scored the only goal of the contest in the 16th minute.
The win strengthened Arsenal’s position at the top of the Premier League table, giving the reigning champions a three-point advantage over their closest challengers, Manchester City.
During the intriguing encounter, Gabriel appeared to appeal to referee Andy Madley for a foul, suggesting that Alexander Isak had struck him in the face.
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However, television replays indicated that the Liverpool forward’s arm made contact with the Arsenal defender’s upper chest rather than his face.
Reacting to Gabriel’s theatrics, Neville described his actions as ‘absolutely embarrassing’, accusing him of exaggerating contact after going to ground and holding his face.
While acknowledging the Brazilian international’s competitive qualities, Neville questioned his tendency to blow challenges out of proportion.
”He does let himself down at times,” the Manchester United legend said.
Neville added: “I love his fire, his passion and his tenacity. But there’s a push into his upper chest and he goes down holding his face.
”It’s absolutely embarrassing. He needs to stop doing that.”
