"Players today, they can’t take criticism" - Rio Ferdinand reveals Arsenal star DM'd him after taking offense to his comments

Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes once privately messaged Rio Ferdinand after the latter criticized the Brazilian's playing style, the Manchester United icon has revealed.

Ferdinand had called out the centre-back for being error-prone during the 2022/23 campaign, something that did not sit well with Magalhaes, who sent a DM to the Englishman to defend himself.

The former Manchester United defender said on his YouTube channel (as quoted by talkSPORT):

“I said that last year and he didn’t like it, he DM’d me. This is a big thing, for me, with players today, they can’t take criticism. Players today, not all of them, I have had quite a few players who have come through their agents."

He added:

"I have said, ‘don’t you get your agent to speak to me. You get your player to come and chat to me and I will chat to him, no problem’. Yes, he [Gabriel] came direct to me, which I respect. But, at the same time, I don’t think he saw what I was saying.”

Magalhaes played a crucial role in Arsenal's title challenge during the 2022/23 Premier League campaign. The Gunners displayed stellar form in a heated title race against Manchester City.

The Brazilian defender started all 38 league encounters for the North London outfit last term, recording three goals. However, he has struggled to find game time under Mikel Arteta this term, being benched for Arsenal's first three matches in the English top tier.

"Nothing at all" - Mikel Arteta addresses Arsenal star's future amid Saudi links

Magalhaes has been linked with an exit from the Emirates as a result of his lack of game time under Arteta this season. He came on late against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest this season while remaining an unused substitute in Arsenal's 2-2 draw against Fulham on Saturday (26 August).

The Brazilian defender has attracted interest from the Middle East, Saudi Pro League outfit Al Ittihad in particular. While his future remains uncertain, Arteta seems to have dismissed a possible exit for the centre-back.

When asked whether the Saudi links influenced his decision to leave Magalhaes on the bench this term, the Arsenal manager said (as quoted by football.london):

"Nothing at all. It’s about the games that we were expecting, what I was expecting, how we wanted to defend and attack and our belief it was the best thing."

The former Barcelona midfielder added:

"He’s played in both games, he’s helped us to win both games for different reasons. He was really good today, he absolutely dominated the box. He’s going to play a lot of games. That’s the decision sometimes."

When asked if he would entertain any of the offers from the Middle East, Arteta shook his head in disapproval.