What Gabriel Magalhaes did in the 95th minute vs Brighton says everything about Arsenal right now

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Gabriel Magalhaes epitomised Arsenal’s standards in the dying embers of the Carabao Cup win over Brighton.

Arsenal beat Brighton 2-0 at the Emirates to progress to the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup, with Crystal Palace waiting in the next round.

The result was particularly pleasing as Mikel Arteta was able to rotate almost the entirety of his starting XI, but that didn’t stop some regulars from getting a runout. 

In the 70th minute, Gabriel Magalhaes replaced Piero Hincapie in central defence, and the Emirates would’ve loved what they saw.

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Gabriel Magalhaes was spotted shouting at Leandro Trossard against Brighton

Before the game, Fabian Hurzeler spoke about Gabriel’s role in set-pieces, but that’s not what stood out for the Brazilian on the night.

Arsenal might’ve felt like they were coasting towards victory after Bukayo Saka doubled the lead in the 76th minute; however, coasting is not what this Arsenal squad do.

During stoppage time, Gabriel encapsulated Arteta’s standards during a brief exchange with Leandro Trossard. 

In the 95th minute, Trossard failed to clear the ball as Brighton threatened, resulting in Yankuba Minteh taking a shot on goal.

Had Minteh scored, it would’ve merely been a consolation, but Gabriel made it clear in that moment that Arsenal weren’t prepared to be empathetic. 

The Brazilian shouted at his teammate for not playing his part to clear the ball, visibly unimpressed with the fact that Arsenal had conceded a shot.

It was a remarkable level of not only leadership but also perfectionism, as the high standards Arteta has instilled at Arsenal were there for all to see. 

By keeping Brighton out, Arsenal earned their sixth consecutive win and clean sheet, with the standards not dropping by any means in the cup. 

Fabian Hurzeler knew Brighton should’ve scored against Arsenal

The level of performance at Arsenal is not slipping, which will overjoy fans as every game is being marshalled like a cup final right now.

The Gunners are not leaving anything to chance; however, in the early stages of the contest, Brighton could’ve ended Arsenal’s clean sheet streak.

After the game, Hurzeler aired his frustration that his side didn’t score, despite racking up an expected goals total of 1.41.

“It’s a strange feeling not being in the next round, you don’t usually get as many chances in a game against Arsenal,” the Brighton boss said.

“You have to score the goals, and if you do that, you are in the next round. We had several shots but couldn’t score, so that is frustrating. Their first goal changed the game – it’s not easier to score goals here.”

It was a tough outing for both sides, but Arsenal came out on top, honouring their superb run of form by failing to concede yet again.