‘We enjoy it’: Gabriel relishing Carabao Cup final battle with Haaland

There have been countless examples but if one action epitomised Gabriel Magalhães’s commitment to the cause it came against Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League tie in Germany last week.

Jarell Quansah’s shot was heading like a rocket towards David Raya’s goal until the Brazil defender intervened with a combination of neck, chin and face. It has become customary for Gabriel to celebrate his blocks and last-ditch tackles by beating his chest in delight but even he needed a moment to come to his senses.

“I couldn’t breathe after this,” the 28-year-old says. “I always try to do my best and I gave everything for this badge. So my teammates can see as well. If you see the block of [Riccardo] Calafiori against Everton, it was unbelievable. We try to do our best every time.”

Piero Hincapié also blocked a shot with his head despite being on the ground in Arsenal’s win over Brighton this month during a game in which Gabriel made an incredible 14 clearances, including preventing a chip by Carlos Baleba from crossing the line. As Mikel Arteta has repeatedly recognised, Arsenal’s No 6 “sets the tone” in a team that recorded a 25th clean sheet in their 49th game of the campaign as Leverkusen were brushed aside on Tuesday.

Gabriel has blocked 38 shots this season – 29% of the squad’s total – and is the undisputed leader of Arsenal’s defence as they prepare to face Manchester City in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.

“I’m a defender, so I need to bring this energy for my teammates, for our fans,” says Gabriel. “I give everything when I’m on the pitch. I try to push everyone. It’s going to be a big battle and I’m ready to do this.”

All eyes will be on his showdown with Erling Haaland and it’s no surprise to hear that both relish the challenge of facing each other. “I think it is fun – we enjoy it,” says Gabriel. “To be honest, I enjoy every game, every striker. It is my job, so I like to battle. But he is a top player and, of course, I think he likes to play against me as well. To play in this league, it’s not easy. You have to be strong and win every duel.”

Arsenal have not lost to City in six matches since the infamous 4-1 thrashing in 2023 that ended up deciding the title, although Haaland did score in the 1-1 draw at the Emirates in September, one of three games in that run that ended level. Gabriel has yet to win a major trophy since joining from Lille a few months after Arsenal lifted the FA Cup in 2020 but has “a good feeling” about this weekend.

“We are very excited for this game,” he says. “We learned a lot in the past – we want to win every game, but we know the Premier League is the toughest league to play. The last three years we didn’t get it, but I think this year we start [well]. Of course, we try to do our best. I think we are in a good moment. Just keep doing what we’re doing and let’s see how it ends.”

Martin Ødegaard has said Gabriel could have been a mixed martial arts fighter and Bukayo Saka reckons the Brazilian’s ultra-physical approach makes him more suited to being a security guard. “They know me, we train every day together. I think it’s good to know,” he says with a chuckle at the suggestion. “Maybe after football I can be a security guard?”

Gabriel was signed by Lille after being spotted as a teenager playing for Avaí, a second-tier club in Brazil based in the surfers’ paradise of Florianópolis. He admits to being “very aggressive” when he was younger: “When I played with my friends, they would say: ‘Hey, calm down, you’re a professional.’ But it’s just like I do every day. We play football, I go to you, it’s just in my mind: I try to defend my house. I think beautiful football is not only a beautiful pass, but also when you defend, the way you defend.”

Gabriel became only the second Arsenal defender to reach 20 Premier League goals when he scored against Bournemouth in January and has seven more than any other player in his position in the top flight since his arrival in 2020. The equaliser against Andoni Iraola’s side was particularly satisfying after his mistake had allowed his compatriot Evanilson to open the scoring and Gabriel believes that was another illustration of his progression.

“It’s not easy when you make a mistake and you concede a goal but I try to be calm in the game and after this, I think after five minutes, I just scored and the game was 1-1,” he says. “[Compared with] four seasons ago, my mentality is not going to be the same, so I learn a lot and I know this can happen. I’m a defender so I need to be calm and go again.”