Wayne Rooney noticed that Gabriel Magalhaes ‘didn’t like’ his battle with Erling Haaland during Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to Man City.
Gabriel and Haaland had an epic battle all afternoon at the Etihad Stadium; however, the Man City striker ended up coming out on top.
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Gabriel was lucky not to see red later in the game after moving his head towards Haaland’s, with VAR fortunately dismissing the incident.
It was a long afternoon for the Brazilian defender, and Rooney firmly believes that the City player got the better of him.
Wayne Rooney on Gabriel Magalhaes vs Erling Haaland
Wayne Rooney thinks that Erling Haaland’s performance caused Arsenal all sorts of problems, particularly for Gabriel Magalhaes.
The former Premier League striker says it was a proper old-school battle between the pair and delivered the excitement ahead of the match.
Speaking about Gabriel versus Haaland, Rooney told BBC MOTD: “Yeah, it was a good old-school battle, wasn’t it? Between the two top players, I really enjoyed Haaland’s performance today.
“He had his intentions right from the start, closing the goalkeeper down, putting pressure on the Arsenal back line all afternoon.
“He had his positioning just off the back of Gabriel. Great movement, gets across the front room. Probably should do a little bit better with the finish, but again, all day, he was causing Arsenal problems.
“He had just been in the right place, been a nuisance, not switching off, anticipating where the ball’s going to drop.”
When asked about Haaland’s winning goal, Rooney claims that the Man City star managed to bamboozle Gabriel with his positioning.
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“Then this is the goal. I really like this. He’s always on the back of Gabriel. He can always see his number, and now Gabriel doesn’t know where he is,” added Rooney.
“Then he gets involved, and once Gabriel gets involved, he loses focus, he loses positioning. Erling Haaland is a strong man. Uses all his power, and that’s a fantastic finish.
“Again, he had these little battles. Knocking him off his feet, making him have to touch him, have to foul him. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like it at all. And again, he had his all over his back. Haaland’s being strong, being a nuisance.
“This is what you want to see from Erling Haaland in every game. If he does this, he is unplayable.”
Wayne Rooney says Gabriel was lucky not to be sent off
Rooney also believes Gabriel was lucky not to be sent off against City following his headbutt on Haaland.
Neville also said Gabriel should have gone, so the Arsenal man can count himself lucky not to have seen red.
Rooney claimed: “Then a little bit of handbags, and Gabriel’s probably a little bit lucky, I think, to stay on the pitch.”
After the match, the Premier League confirmed that Gabriel’s clash with Haaland was deemed not to be excessively aggressive or violent by VAR.
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