There may have been a deeper reason behind Gabriel's decision to pull out a similar celebration to the one made famous by Viktor Gyokeres after the defender scored in Arsenal's Champions League win against Sporting CP on Tuesday evening.
Gabriel was one of five scorers for the Gunners in Portugal with Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard also on target in the dominant 5-1 victory. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was unsurprisingly very pleased with his side's performance.
"For sure, especially against the opponent that we played in their home," he said when asked if that was his best European win at Arsenal. "I don’t think they’ve lost here in 18 months. They’ve been in top form, they’ve been better than everyone they’ve played here. To play to that level with the fluidity that we’ve done today, very pleased."
Though it was a thoroughly professional display from Arsenal, a few players seemingly couldn't resist taking a subtle dig at Gyokeres. Moments after heading home his side's third, Gabriel attempted to copy the Sporting striker's celebration with Saka also captured doing similar.
Upon learning what Gabriel had done, Gyokeres offered a clear verdict on the Arsenal defender. "I didn't know he did that, but it's funny that he likes my celebration," he is quoted when speaking to ViaPlay "If you can't create your own celebration, you can steal it from me."
Though it may have appeared somewhat disrespectful, Gabriel and Saka may have had good reason to act in that manner after what one Sporting player did following their Europa League win on penalties against Arsenal 18 months ago.
Pedro Goncalves was spotted mimicking Granit Xhaka’s celebration after Sporting's win in March 2023
Pedro Goncalves was spotted mimicking Granit Xhaka’s celebration after Sporting's win in March 2023 (Image: Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
During the post-match celebrations, Pedro Goncalves was spotted mimicking Granit Xhaka’s celebration in front of the away end. After initially scoring in normal time, Xhaka celebrated by placing his thumb on his nose and all of his fingers outstretched in a high-five gesture.
While there may have been nothing behind it, it is now seemingly possible that Gabriel and Saka were getting their own back on the Portuguese champions.
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