Gabriel Magalhaes delivered the perfect response to his Brazil World Cup squad omission during Arsenal's 2-0 win over Wolves on Saturday night.
Well, that is the view of many Gunners supporters who paid close attention to the defender at Molineux on what was his second appearance since it was announced that he would not be on the plane to Qatar alongside teammates Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli.
Now, according to Brazilian football expert Tim Vickery, Gabriel not being picked isn't that much of a shock as the Arsenal defender still hasn't earned the trust of national team manager Tite as he's still awaiting his first senior cap despite being called up numerous times in the past 12 months.
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"With Gabriel Magalhaes, he was in the squad for a while without playing and I think it became clear that the coach didn't trust him, or didn't trust him enough," explained Vickery when discussing Tite's decision to Sky Sports earlier in the week. "So, his exclusion is not a surprise."
In Chelsea's Thiago Silva, PSG's Marquinhos and Real Madrid's Eder Militao, Brazil are certainly blessed with options in central defence and keeping that in mind, it explains how Gabriel has been able to take the announcement in his stride, not to mention the support from his Arsenal teammates.
"I think the whole team has been very supportive with him," Gunners manager Mikel Arteta told reporters. "Gabi had that option in his mind that it wasn't easy to get selected with the squad that they have. He was obviously hoping for it but he accepted that decision in a really good way."
Proof that Gabriel was not downbeat regarding his Brazil snub came against Wolves as he earned an 8/10 score in our football.london player ratings for producing 'truly decisive blocks at the back, excellently covering for William Saliba and leading the backline accordingly' en route to another clean sheet.'
This view is one that is shared among many Arsenal supporters on social media, some of whom took to Twitter after the game to heap praise on the 24-year-old for how well he responded to the setback of not being selected for the Brazil 2022 Qatar World Cup squad.
@GerALd_Jim said: "Not on board, no Problem for @biel_m04, his mentality is 100", @Soncopson noted that Gabriel "saved Saliba twice in the game against Wolves" and @oluwalekeroyals said: "Gabriel Magalhaes was gargantuan last night. Best Brazilian defender in the world. Take a bow son."
@rehnato had a message for the Brazil manager: "Gabriel Magalhaes has been terrific tonight. My MOTM after Martin Odegaard. Big big mistake from Tite not taking him to the WC. Brazil’s loss" and @1Utred said: "Brazil really left Gabriel Magalhaes out of the World Cup squad. Absolute rock. What a player. My MOTM I know MO8 has two goals and he’s been excellent second half but Gabriel unreal."
Of course, all hope is not yet lost for Gabriel as the World Cup rules state that nations can replace injured or Covid-19 positive players up to 24 hours before their first match of the tournament. Brazil are due to play Serbia on November 24 and early signs suggest the Arsenal defender is ready if called up as a replacement.
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