Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes speaks out after Erling Haaland throws ball at his head and sends warning to Manchester City

Gabriel Magalhaes has played down the value of his clash with Erling Haaland successful Arsenal’s 2-2 gully with Manchester City, arguing that ‘provocation is normal’ aft the striker was seen throwing the shot astatine his head.

Sunday’s heavyweight Premier League brushwood proved a highly arguable and bad-tempered affair, with tensions boiling implicit connected a fig of occasions crossed the 90 minutes astatine the Etihad.

Arsenal, chasing their archetypal triumph astatine the stadium successful astir a decade, fought backmost admirably pursuing Erling Haaland’s aboriginal opener to instrumentality a 2-1 pb astatine the halfway stage, with Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel some scoring.

And the Gunners looked acceptable for a celebrated triumph aft Leandro Trossard’s reddish paper connected the changeable of half-time, lone for John Stones to scramble location a melodramatic last-ditch equaliser for the champions successful the dying embers of the game.

Haaland and Gabriel were astatine each other’s throats for overmuch of the lucifer and replays showed the City guardant launching the shot astatine the backmost of the Brazilian’s caput successful the contiguous aftermath of Stones’ stoppage-time strike.

Asked whether helium felt the shot onslaught his head, Gabriel told TNT Sports Brasil: ‘No, I don’t retrieve it. I don’t retrieve it. It’s normal.

‘But anyway, congratulations to the squad for the draw.

‘As I said, battle, war, provocation is mean successful shot and it is portion of the game.

‘It’s implicit now.

‘Now we are waiting for them astatine our house.’

Gabriel believes Arsenal’s rivalry with City is ‘growing’ each the clip and Pep Guardiola’s broadside are good alert of the menace they airs successful this season’s rubric race.

‘The rivalry volition ever beryllium and I deliberation it is increasing much and more,’ the defender added.

‘We cognize their prime and they cognize our prime too.

‘So I deliberation we are increasing measurement by measurement and we indispensable proceed learning on the way.’

Arsenal’s dogged show received wide praise but rubbed City’s players up the incorrect way, with Mikel Arteta’s men accused of excessive time-wasting arsenic they desperately defended their constrictive pb successful the 2nd half.

Bernardo Silva was speedy to telephone retired Arsenal’s antagonistic attack successful the aftermath and Manuel Akanji followed suit, portion accusing the distant squad of actively ‘looking for’ drama.

I deliberation it’s what they’re looking for, it’s ever the mode erstwhile we play against them. That’s what they’re looking for: drama,’ the City defender said successful the mixed portion aft the draw.

‘Going hard aboriginal doors, defend, 11 players successful their ain container and past spell connected set-pieces and effort to people a goal.

‘I mean it worked for them. If they’re blessed with 1 point… we’re not really. Obviously we tried to get much but I deliberation that’s what they’re blessed with.’

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