“You are a monster” - Arsenal duo Declan Rice and Mikel Merino react to Gabriel Magalhaes scoring dramatic late winner against Newcastle

Arsenal's Declan Rice and Mikel Merino have lavished praise on Gabriel Magalhaes following his late heroics against Newcastle United. The Gunners travelled to St. James' Park on Sunday, September 28, to face the Magpies in the Premier League.

Eddie Howe's side took the lead in the game, with new signing Nick Woltemade finding the back of the net in the 34th minute. The north London side trailed for much of the game, and when it looked like they would drop points, Merino popped up with the equalizer in the 84th minute.

The goal put a spring in Arsenal's steps as they threw the kitchen sink at the home side. Their efforts finally bore fruit when Gabriel wrestled through a crowd of Newcastle United defenders to head home the equalizer in the sixth minute of second-half injury time.

Following the game, the Brazilian shared a series of images from the game on Instagram. His teammates soon thronged the post, with Merino describing the 27-year-old as a "monster".

Rice also hailed Gabriel in his Instagram story, stating:

“My bro. You are a monster, my friend.”

Interestingly, Noni Madueke, who is currently out injured, had previously described Gabriel as a "monster" in a social media post following his weekend heroics. Arsenal are now just two points behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League table after six games.

Will Kepa Arrizabalaga leave Arsenal in 2026?

Como are planning to prise Kepa Arrizabalaga away from Arsenal in January, according to Sports Boom. The Spanish custodian arrived at the Emirates this summer from Chelsea after the Gunners triggered his £5m release clause.

Kepa was roped in to cover for David Raya, who remains Mikel Arteta's No. 1 at the moment. The 30-year-old made his first appearance for the north London side in the 2-0 win over Port Vale in the EFL Cup Third Round last week.

However, it now appears that he will have the chance to leave Arsenal at the turn of the year. Como have been on the rise under Cesc Fabregas of late and they are looking to sign a new goalkeeper in mid-season.

Kepa has emerged as an option and the Serie A side are hoping they can convince him to make the move in the winter transfer window. However, the report adds that the Spaniard is not expected to leave the Gunners at the moment.

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Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written nearly 10000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 21 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

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Edited by Deepungsu Pandit