Arsenal
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Fulham boss Marco Silva has hailed Gabriel Magalhaes as “impossible to stop” from set-pieces after the Brazilian played a decisive role in Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Craven Cottage on Saturday night.
Mikel Arteta’s men once again showcased their defensive solidity, with Leandro Trossard’s second-half strike proving the difference. The Belgian netted in the 58th minute after capitalising on a clever flick from Gabriel at the near post, another example of Arsenal’s growing threat from dead-ball situations.
The goal marked Gabriel’s 20th goal involvement since his arrival at the Emirates in 2020, underlining his impact in both penalty areas. Speaking after the match, Silva admitted that his side struggled to contain the Brazilian’s aerial dominance.
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“When you lose a game, it is always a disappointing one. They were at a very good level,” Silva told BBC’s Match of the Day. “We did create chances to score before Arsenal. They were more on that than on ourselves. We knew it was not going to be easy, a tough team to play against but I think we kept them away from big chances in the game.
“After the goal, we did react and started to play more in our way again. “Gabriel jumps so high, it’s impossible to stop him. It’s very difficult to control.
Gabriel Magalhaes
Gabriel Magalhaes (Image credit: Getty Images)
“The way we tried to block his run, most of the game, we did it very well. We were too open and left the path for Gabriel. We didn’t want him to run in that part. Any flick is very difficult to control at the back post.”
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Despite Fulham’s resilience, Arsenal’s execution from set-pieces once again proved decisive, a theme that has become a hallmark of their success this season. In his post-match press conference, Silva expanded on the challenge of defending against such a well-drilled unit.
“It’s frustrating, okay, it’s hard to stop, offensive set-pieces is not just about one, two, three players, it’s about the takers, they are lucky because they have very good takers too,” Silva said.
“It’s a hard challenge for you, when Arsenal face other teams it’s a hard challenge for them, I think it’s on both situations, not just the teams they play against. “I think they’ve scored 60 per cent of their goals from set-pieces, it shows their power in that moment.
“The frustration for us is that we showed throughout the game we were well prepared for that moment but this is the type of game where you have to keep the focus for 90, 95 minutes. Most of the time we did a very good job, but in one moment we let him [Gabriel] go with power. The way he jumped was very difficult to control, even when the flick comes in the front post it’s far more difficult to control in the far post.”
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