Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes started and helped Arsenal beat Fulham in the Premier League.
The Gunners began the weekend at the top of the table, but they were temporarily displaced by Manchester City on Saturday. However, a win at Craven Cottage has now pushed them three points clear.
Leandro Trossard scored the only goal of the game to lead Arsenal to victory, but there were other players who impressed too.
Calafiori and Gabriel were two of them.
Riccardo Calafiori hails Gabriel Magalhaes after Arsenal beat Fulham
Arsenal were not at their fluid best against Fulham, but they still completely deserved to win the game.
Riccardo Calafiori had a great first half. His movement was incredible, so much so that many fans urged Mikel Arteta to turn him into a striker.
The Italian wasn’t as eye-catching in the second half, but his defensive partner, Gabriel Magalhaes, made a major impact.
The Brazilian leapt higher than everyone else to flick a corner towards Trossard. The attacker made no mistake with his finish and helped Arsenal win.
After the game, Fulham boss Marco Silva claimed that Gabriel was ‘impossible to stop’.
Then, on Instagram, Calafiori praised the former Lille man and described him using just one word: “Animal!”
Mikel Arteta hails Gabriel’s mentality after Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Fulham
Gabriel was actually not at his best level at the start of the derby against Fulham.
The Brazil international made a few mistakes early on, but he showed great mentality to recover. He didn’t just help keep a clean sheet but also assisted Trossard’s goal.
Mikel Arteta was impressed with his defender’s recovery and hailed him after the victory.
He said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “That’s exactly the part that I loved about it because when everything goes well in the first few minutes for a player and he’s confident and things are flowing for you, it’s easy to continue.
“But Gabi had two difficult moments, probably not at his standards, but the way he reacted to that and the sense of security that he transmitted, that’s maturity, and that’s the mindset that we need in the team.
“So that’s a really good example to use, and that I will use for sure.”
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