Arsenal have been given a fresh Gabriel red card verdict after a former Premier League referee admitted the defender was ‘very lucky’ not to be sent off against Manchester City
12:08, 20 Apr 2026
Gabriel and Erling Haaland
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Gabriel and Erling Haaland clashed once more at the Etihad(Image: Getty Images)
Arsenal have received a fresh red card verdict after Gabriel was ‘very lucky’ not to have been sent off for aiming a headbutt at Erling Haaland.
The Gunners’ stranglehold at the top of the Premier League has collapsed in little over a week after defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday saw Pep Guardiola’s side move three points behind them with a game in hand against relegation-threatened Burnley on Wednesday.
Back-to-back defeats after a home loss against Bournemouth last Saturday means Arsenal are facing the real possibility of ending the season trophyless again despite talks of a Quadruple little over a month ago.
Gabriel Magalhaes and Erling Haaland were involved in an altercation during Manchester City's win against Arsenal
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Gabriel Magalhaes and Erling Haaland were involved in an altercation during Manchester City's win against Arsenal(Image: Getty Images)
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Sunday’s loss could have ended even worse for the Gunners if Gabriel had been sent off for aiming a headbutt at Haaland. The Brazilian lost his fierce battle against the City striker and in a moment of madness put his head towards Haaland when the two locked heads, but fortunately for Gabriel, he only glanced the head of Haaland who remained honest and didn’t throw himself to the ground.
Speaking on Sky Sport’s Ref Watch show on Monday morning, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher analysed the incident with ex-England international Jay Bothroyd.
The former official said: “It was a very fair outcome, both of them were aggressive, throughout the whole game, it just epitomised what was at stake.
Anthony Taylor
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Anthony Taylor only deemed the incident worthy of a yellow card(Image: Getty Images)
“Gabriel is very unwise what he does is not the cleverest thing to do and he runs a risk, but if you look, he actually goes in front of him and not through him, he does not head butt him.
“But he is very, very lucky that Haaland was very, very responsible because if he hits the deck, the whole landscape changes and the referee has a different situation to deal with.”
Bothroyd agreed with Gallagher’s verdict that Haaland’s honesty saved Gabriel from being sent off.
He said: “Gabriel was lucky - when we look at the rules, it is violent conduct if you put your head into someone's face, that was violent conduct and we have seen other people get sent off for that kind of movement towards someone's head.
“What Haaland said is absolutely right - if he goes down holding his face there, he is going to get a red card and then he is banned for three matches.”
Gallagher also reserved praise for referee Anthony Taylor allowing the game to breathe and not put himself at the centre of controversial decisions.
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“He obviously set out with this mindset that he wanted people talking about what a great game it was and not talking about him,” he added.
“I got the feeling the players respected and enjoyed how he refereed and rose to the occasion. It was brilliant to watch. The only mistake he made was blowing the whistle too early.”
Gabriel being sent off would have been the cherry on the cake of a disastrous afternoon for Arsenal, with the Brazilian still able to play a part in the Gunners’ crucial Premier League games against Newcastle, Fulham and West Ham.