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Former Premier League striker Darren Bent heaped praise on Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes after his performance in their win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, January 20.
The Gunners returned to winning ways after four games across competitions, hammering Palace 5-0 at the Emirates in the Premier League. Gabriel opened the scoring in the 11th minute via a Declan Rice corner.
He then helped double their lead in the 37th minute. Gabriel again won the header from a corner. His header deflected off in the goal for a Dean Henderson own goal. Leandro Trossard (59') and Gabriel Martinelli's brace (90+4', 90+5') completed the rout for the hosts.
Aside from his two goal contributions, Gabriel, made five clearances and one block. He also won eight of his 12 duels, completed 45/51 passes and delivered 5/7 accurate long balls.
The Brazilian defender's performance earned him praise from Darren Bent, who said on Premier League Productions (via The Boot Room):
“Arsenal came out the blocks well. The first goal shows Gabriel’s hunger and desire. He sees the ball and wants it more than anyone else and gets his head to it.”
Gabriel has now scored two goals in 19 Premier League games this season. He's also formed an excellent partnership with William Saliba in defense, helping Arsenal keep eight clean sheets in the league.
Mikel Arteta on Gabriel and Declan Rice's injuries after Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
While Gabriel Magalhaes had an excellent game, he had to be subbed off in the 81st minute due to a discomfort. Midfielder Declan Rice was also replaced in the 73rd minute due to a hamstring issue.
After the game, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked about an update on Rice's injury. He answered (via Arsenal.com):
"He was feeling some tiredness. I don’t know exactly what muscle it was but when he says that at 3-0 obviously we don’t want to take any risks, and the same with big Gabi as well. He had some discomfort, he had a tackle in the first half and was a bit struggling so it was the right moment to take them off."
The north London side will next be in action after 10 days, when they face Nottingham Forest away on January 30.
With the win over Palace, the Gunners are third in the Premier League standings, two points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
