Gabriel sparks Alan Shearer and Micah Richards argument – ‘A load of s***’

Micah Richards disagreed that Gabriel Magalhaes fooled Viktor Gyokeres by copying his celebration, but Alan Shearer was a fan of the Arsenal defender's taunt.

Arsenal recorded a 5-1 win over Sporting CP on Tuesday evening, showing their Champions League credentials by handing the Portuguese giants their first home defeat in 18 months. In-form defender Gabriel scored the Gunners' third goal in monstrous fashion, towering over the Sporting players to head the ball home from a corner on the stroke of half-time.

The Brazilian centre-back then revealed his own stunning twist on Sporting striker Gyokeres' signature celebration, running towards the corner flag and holding his hands over his eyes as he locked his fingers. It seemed to be a joke on Gyokeres, as he had kept the fearsome Swede quiet all evening alongside his defensive partner, William Saliba.

The celebration went viral on social media, especially considering Gyokeres was recently linked with an Arsenal move. But pundit Richards, speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, found the act distasteful and unnecessary.

Richards, a self-confessed Arsenal fan, said: “Gabriel was excellent. I don't entirely agree with his Gyokeres celebration. We don't need to go there and mock Gyokeres. He was celebrating when he scored the goal.” I'm like, you don't have to do that. Be the bigger person.”

Newcastle legend Shearer intervened with: “Oh, what nonsense. Let him do it if he wants to”, to which Richards jokingly replied: “You're like Wrighty [Arsenal hero Ian Wright]Wrighty gets in your head too much and says, 'F off Al, let him do what he wants.'

The former Manchester City defender added more seriously: “Alan, I'm all about fun, you know me. But these moments here always come back to bite you. I love his confidence. I love the fact that he can bring it.”

“But why does a defender even think about having a Gyokeres party? I know he's good at set pieces, but come on! Gabriel, I love you, but you shouldn't do that.”

Podcast host Gary Lineker then offered his own thoughts, saying, “I'd actually be quite flattered if I was Gyokeres that he actually knew about me and my party. I don't have a particular problem with that.”

Gyokeres, who is also closely linked to Manchester United, commented on Gabriel using his post-match celebration. The goal phenom made a subtle attack on his opponent, telling ViaPlay: “He can steal it if he can't create his own party! I didn't know he did that, but it's nice that he likes my party.”

Gabriel could have had his own back after Sporting midfielder Pedro Goncalves mocked former Arsenal star Granit , and Goncalves imitated that. Xhaka by putting his thumb on his nose and holding out his hand.

The defeat is widely believed to have derailed Mikel Arteta's season, with injuries to Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu in that match later leading to their collapse in the Premier League title race. However, this was not the case on Tuesday; Arsenal are now seventh in the Champions League stage with three games to play.